"2022 Crozes-Hermitage “Certitude”- Domaine François Villard The Crozes-Hermitage “Certitude” bottling from François Villard is crafted from three different vineyard parcels in the village of Mercurol, which is the heart and soul of the appellation and home to Domaine de Thalabert. The wine includes one hundred percent whole clusters and is given an élevage of a year and a half in five to six year-old Burgundy barrels. The wine tips the scales at 12.5 percent alcohol in this vintage and offers up a superb bouquet of cassis, pepper, grilled venison, black olive, stony soil tones, coffee bean, woodsmoke and just a touch of cedar from the older casks. On the palate the wine is deep, vibrant and full-bodied, with a fine core of 44 fruit, excellent soil signature and grip, good acids, moderate tannins and a long, well balanced and complex finish. This is excellent Crozes!"