The Greek's "Behind the Counter" Wine - One of the Hardest Wines to Source in the Rhone

Retail's Dirty Little Secret - Wines We Never Put on the Shelf
With the Election and Shipping Season No One is Paying Attention
So I'm Offering My Few Cases Now of the Greek's Behind the Counter Wine
Forget What You Think You Think You Know About Crozes-Hermitage
Biodynamic, Old Vines, Only Made in Certain Years and Aged in a Concrete Egg
This Wine is Aromatic and Elegant Beyond Belief
The Cuvee They All Fight Over in France


Every wine retailer worth their salt has some wines that they get a very small amount of and don't put on the shelf.  They stick them behind the counter and only offer them to their best customers.  Being democratic, I've always hated the practice but I have a few wines that I have to do it with to avoid a riot.  Well, the practice exists even in France and even with the Greek aka the King of the Rhone (the most influential and well respected wine retailer in the Rhone who has sold the first bottles of every Rhone winemaker you've ever heard of).

I'm the only guy who can sell this wine in the States.  Why? Because there is a perceived price ceiling on Crozes-Hermitage in the States and this would be $75 through standard retail.  What I mean by price ceiling is if the consumer reacts to the price with horror because wine x is supposed to be $25-$35 because all/most of Beaujolais, Chinon, Chignin-Bergeron, Gattinara, Crozes-Hermitage etc is supposed to cost only this much.

The wine is the 2014 Domaine des Bruyeres (David Reynaud) Crozes-Hermitage "Cuvee Entre de Ciel et Terre " for as little as $49.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. George, the Greek, calls it the best egg wine in all of the Rhone. Nothing is even close.  It's so surprising to taste as it is not inky and dark like the other top Crozes from Darnaud or Colombier. This is atypical wine at its finest. Huge elegance if that makes sense but sometimes things only make sense in the context of that particular wine. Trust me this wine has huge elegance. Like a perfect sphere on the palate. That is also what the egg giveth. Very, very fine tannins. Like you won't believe. Ultra fine. It is shocking how amazing these tannins are. They are the definition of lithe. I know it's not vogue to talk about tannins much but these really should be pointed out as particularly significant and compelling in this wine. And it is so so so long. Just keeps pumping out tannins, juicy fruit and granite for days. There is amazing inner mouth floral aromas. Mainly violets. Stunning. Spice and undergrowth keep it even more interesting and complex as it aerates. The vineyard has tons of small clay and limestone pebbles. The fruit is light red and ultra vivid and palate staining. Not musky like other Crozes can be. It is an indubitably faithful and noble expression of Syrah and one of the best Crozes I have ever tasted. It is so distinctive and unique.


This wine is a favorite of The Greek, George Leleskglouglou, who never keeps it on the shelf of his famous store, Compagnie l'Hermitage in the beating heart of Tain l'Hermitage. The wine sells out so fast at the estate that I could never get any before. This wine sees no wood and is aged for 24 months in a concrete egg. Using vessels like eggs and amphorae really is one of the most interesting and positive developments in wine aging for quite some time.  Because the concrete allows for the oxygenization of wood without the wood taste, the egg gives the wine a roundness and the fruit I find is even more expressive as it is naked without the vessel imprint of wood. The wine also, for me, and El Grec is the most elegant Crozes-Hermitage being made today. This wine was just released and sells out quickly in and around France. Only around 2,000 bottles are made and it gets scooped up quickly as David Reynaud is somewhat of a sensation over there and makes many cuvees of Crozes-Hermitage. But this is the one cuvee everyone wants. Old vines, mostly from the 1950's, produced only in the top years and not every year,  24 months in egg and from great terroir in Mercurol. Those are all the ingredients for a unicorn wine. And this is a future unicorn wine for sure.When I sell wines like this, where I am going out on a limb, it is because I truly and really believe in the wine. $50 Crozes as a concept can be thrown out the window. Take this wine on its own terms and you'll see $50 is a value for this wine.

014 Domaine des Bruyeres (David Reynaud) Crozes-Hermitage

 "Cuvee Entre de Ciel et Terre"  - $52.99 ($149.97 3-pack) (EXTREMELY LIMITED)