This wine has a deep, lush damson fruitiness with classic smokey, tarry Crozes character. Charles and François Tardy parted company with Bernard Ange a few years ago and the 25 hectare estate is now making some of the most exciting red and white wines to be found in the Crozes-Hermitage appellation.

François is a qualified oenologist and installed a new winery just before the 1999 harvest and, at the same time, introduced a judicious amount of oak ageing for all the wines. However, like all good wine-makers, he realises that the root of quality is to be found in the vineyards and he and his father, Charles, have made enormous strides in canopy management and yield control.