Today I had a very instructive experience tasting through the Delas wines with their winemaker over Zoom. One of the great houses in the Northern Rhone, Delas was founded back in 1835. Although the Delas family has been making wine since 1835 in the Rhône Valley, it was not until 1924 that they took the current name of the estate. In 1993, the Rouzaud family, owners of Louis Roederer, acquired both Delas Frères and Champagne Deutz. Since 1996, the Rouzaud family has made important investments in the Saint-Jean-de-Muzols production site near Tournon-sur-Rhône. They have revamped their production facility and cellars to make some important modernizations.
Delas now makes a huge range of wines all the way from the Ventoux in southern France, as well as Chateauneuf du Pape but they are best known for their wines from Cote Rotie and Hermitage. I was massively impressed with their red and white wine releases across the board. Look to their 2017 Delas Hermitage Domaine des Tourelles (OB, 94) which is rich, unctuous and downright delicious with good freshness and some seriously good aging potential. I loved the new 2017 Delas Cote-Rotie La Landonne (OB, 96) which comes from some hallowed ground and is seamless and elegant with a silky mouthfeel.
2017 Delas Hermitage Domaine des Tourelles- A blend of 90% Marsanne with the remainder Roussanne, this saw roughly nine months of barrel aging with battonage. The texture is gorgeous here with ripe peach and starfruit tones with a silky sense of mouthfeel and good freshness. Drink 2021-2033- 94
2016 Delas Condrieu La Galopine- The 2016 Delas Condrieu La Galopine is a stunning wine that was sourced from four communes in Condrieu. The wine shows great finesse and is downright unctuous on the tongue. Layers of buttercream and stony minerals are woven together with ripe Bartlett pear and shades of banana that gives this plenty of exotic appeal. Drink 2021-2033- 93
2017 Delas Condrieu Clos Boucher- The 2017 Delas Condrieu Clos Boucher is sourced from a single vineyard adjacent to Chateau Grillet. Aged for six months on the lees, this provides ripe pineapple, white peach and shades of nutmeg and toasted Macadamia nut on this gorgeous bouquet. The freshness and sense of finesse as well as dense mouthfeel here really impresses. Drink 2021-2035- 95
2015 Delas Crozes Hermitage Domaine des Grand Chemins- Already quite evolved this shows dark currents and graphite tones alongside shades of iron and bulls blood. Enjoy over the next several years. Drink 2021-2026- 90
2015 Delas Crozes Hermitage Le Clos- The 2015 Le Clos shows beautiful black florals with wild blackberry and soy sauce tones aromatically. The palate is fresh with plenty of finesse. Soft tannins line the beautifully pure dark fruits that mingle with stony terroir. Drink 2021-2035- 94
2017 Delas Cote-Rotie Seigneur de Maugiron- The 2017 Cote-Rotie Seigneur de Maugiron is a combination of fruit sourced from the Cote Brune and Cote Blonde vineyards. The gorgeous aromatics impresss with layers of rich red and dark fruits with citrus rind and iodine tones. The freshness and finesse of the wine is outstanding, as is the great sense of length. Firm tannins hood together a great core of red and dark fruits with charcuterie and black tea tones on the palate. Drink 2021-2035- 94
2017 Delas Cote-Rotie La Landonne- Delas has four acres of land in this hallowed site. This saw 16 months of French oak aging (25% new) prior to bottling. Quite closed aromatically, this really needs an hour of air to get going. The palate is extremely refined with black raspberry and blackberry cordial flavors alongside coffee grounds and graphite tones with amazing verve. This has a long way to go. Drink 2021-2038- 96
2017 Delas Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes-The 2017 Delas Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes is an awesome showing sourced from this south facing site in Hermitage. Gorgeous violets with black currants and smoky tones fill the nose. The palate is rich, concentrated and beautifully structured with a soft texture. Elegant with great length this is already showing beautifully now. Drink 2021-2038- 95
2017 Delas Hermitage Lea Bessards- The 2017 Delas Hermitage Lea Bessards is sourced from a single vineyard first planted in 1990. Ripe cassis and sour black Cherry tones mingle with exotic spices and stony undertones on the palate. Generous and rich with outstanding length, this has a long way to go. Drink 2021-2035- 94