Julien Cecillon, Syrah 'Les Graviers'

Julien Cécillon makes Northern Rhône Syrah with the sort of balance that tricks you into thinking the bottle wasn’t actually that strong until you stand up afterwards.

Based around Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage, Julien and Nancy Kerschen started the winery in 2011 after working harvests all over the world, eventually settling back in the Northern Rhône to focus on elegant low-intervention wines that still feel unmistakably Rhône.

The Syrahs are the stars really. Pepper, violets, black cherry, herbs and olive tapenade all tangled together with freshness and fine tannins instead of huge heavy extraction. There’s plenty of depth, but the wines never feel overworked or loaded with oak for attention. The whole approach leans much more toward purity and drinkability.

A lot of the fruit comes from granite-heavy hillside vineyards, which gives the wines that lovely savoury mineral edge Northern Rhône fans get slightly obsessive about. Even the négociant wines carry loads of character and precision.

The whites deserve attention too. Marsanne and Roussanne handled with restraint so you get texture and richness without the wines collapsing into oily heaviness.

There’s a proper calm confidence to the whole project. Nothing flashy, no over-the-top branding, just seriously good Rhône wine made by people who clearly know the region inside out.