The name, “Monier de la Sizeranne” comes from the name of an important Tain l’Hermitage family. This family also owned the “La Sizeranne” vineyard. This family has had influence, since 1790, as it produced Henri Monier de la Sizeranne, senator; Maxime Monier de la Sizeranne, painter; Maurice Monier de la Sizeranne, the man responsible for creating a version of Braille (one of the reasons why CHAPOUTIER has braille on its bottle labels); Robert Monier de la Sizeranne, translator of Ruskins’ book. The bottle label displays a lion, which is the Sizeranne family crest.

The soil is made up of sandy limestone alluvia (with a variable clay content depending on the area), Tournon granite, and aeolian silt. You can also find some poorly decomposed granite from the plots located at the top of the slopes. Hermitage “Monier de la Sizeranne” comes from a blending of different soils from West to East: “les Bessards”, “le Méal” and “les Greffieux”.

Hand-harvested at optimal maturity. Vinification The harvested grapes are entirely destemmed and are vinified in concrete tanks. The traditional fermentation process using indigenous yeasts enables the wine’s terroirs to express themselves. Once or twice a day, a cap punching or pumping over operation is carried out to ensure a good extraction of the tannins and color. The temperature varies between 30 and 33°C. The vats are tasted daily, four to five weeks of maceration are required to obtain wines with a well-crafted, velvety texture. The malolactic fermentation, which softens the wine, takes place in barrel for 18 months, 85% stays in new oak barrels, the remaining 15% is aged in concrete tanks to preserve minerality and freshness.

Monier de la Sizeranne shows fruits like raspberry and blackcurrant, with a hint of licorice. The palate has good attack, round, and elegant wine with concentrated and gentle tannins. The final is on blackcurrant, raspberry, and spicy black pepper aromas when young. Recommended food pairings are venison fillet in red wine sauce, roast beef, or ripe and aged cheeses.