Domaine Marc Sorrel

Félix, Marc Sorrel's grandfather and a notary at Tain-l'Hermitage, created the domaine in 1928. The domaine is at 128 bis, avenue Jean-Jaurès in Tain-l'Hermitage; in 2007 its cellar sat right on the main road through town. Marc Sorrel has been a vigneron since 1984. Decanter's Hermitage 2023 report by Matt Walls, published December 6, 2024, listed Domaine Marc Sorrel among key Hermitage producers that year. In 2023 Guillaume Sorrel reached the maximum permitted yields in Hermitage for the first time in the past six years; he told Decanter that "Both reds and whites were successful," with "a slight preference for the whites" that year.

• Created in 1928 by Félix, a notary at Tain-l'Hermitage and Marc Sorrel's grandfather
• Marc Sorrel: vigneron since 1984
• Guillaume Sorrel: reached the maximum permitted Hermitage yields in 2023, the first time in six years
• Address: 128 bis, avenue Jean-Jaurès, 26600 Tain-l'Hermitage

The domaine lies in the northern Côtes du Rhône, on the left bank of the Rhône at the 45th parallel, on a hillside facing due south whose Mediterranean-influenced microclimate is sheltered from cold north winds. The domaine calls Le Méal, on a soil of large pebbles, the heart of the cru; Les Rocoules, close to Le Méal, gives its white. In 2007 the domaine had 2.5 hectares of vines on Hermitage, with white vines in Les Rocoules and red vines in the Le Méal, Les Bessards and Greffieux parcels. Its Crozes-Hermitage wines came from an old-vine parcel in Larnage, behind the hill of Hermitage.

• Northern Côtes du Rhône, left bank of the Rhône at the 45th parallel; south-facing hillside
• Le Méal: red vines on a soil of large pebbles
• 2.5 hectares on Hermitage in 2007 across Les Rocoules (white), Le Méal, Les Bessards and Greffieux (red)
• Crozes-Hermitage from an old-vine parcel in Larnage

The domaine grows Syrah for its Hermitage rouge and Roussanne and Marsanne for its Hermitage blanc. In 2007 it made two red Hermitage cuvées, a basic and Le Gréal. The basic red came primarily from 30-year-old vines in Les Plantiers, the lowest portion of the Les Greffieux parcel; its grapes were destemmed, fermented in stainless steel, punched down twice a day and moved to barrel for an 18- to 20-month élevage. Le Gréal came from 50-plus-year-old vines primarily in Le Méal and was half destemmed before the same vinification. There were also two white Hermitage cuvées: a basic white of 100 percent Marsanne from 20-year-old vines in Les Greffieux, entirely barrel fermented, and Les Rocoules, 90 percent Marsanne and the rest Roussanne from 60-year-old vines in the Les Rocoules parcel further up the hill. The domaine also made a white and red Crozes-Hermitage, and production was about 1,200 cases per year.

• Le Gréal: 50-plus-year-old vines primarily in Le Méal, half destemmed (2007)
• Hermitage rouge (basic): primarily 30-year-old vines in Les Plantiers, destemmed, 18- to 20-month barrel élevage (2007)
• Les Rocoules: 90 percent Marsanne, the rest Roussanne, 60-year-old vines (2007)
• Hermitage blanc (basic): 100 percent Marsanne from 20-year-old vines in Les Greffieux, barrel fermented (2007)
• Crozes-Hermitage white and red from Larnage (2007)

Wine Spectator's James Molesworth wrote in 2007 that Sorrel was among the first vignerons to bottle separate cuvées from Hermitage, and Marc Sorrel told him: "When the parcels are different you cannot make the same wine." Molesworth found the reds "distinctly more traditional in profile, with an earthy edge," and the domaine's whites typified by "the waxy texture and traditional slightly nutty, marzipan notes." By 2007 the reds had seen 20 percent American oak since the 2004 vintage, as well as a dash of new oak; in Sorrel's words: "I don’t want wines that are too oaky." Decanter's tasting notes on the 2023 vintage give Le Gréal "Powerful, explosive, peppery mulberry fruit" and Les Rocoules "Intense quince and pear, very rich and powerful."

• Wine Spectator (2007): reds "distinctly more traditional in profile, with an earthy edge"
• Marc Sorrel to Wine Spectator (2007): "When the parcels are different you cannot make the same wine."
• Reds with 20 percent American oak and a dash of new oak from the 2004 vintage through 2007
• Decanter on Le Gréal 2023: "Powerful, explosive, peppery mulberry fruit"

Primary source (producer's own site): https://www.domainemarcsorrel.fr/. Secondary sources: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/day-4-a-little-crozes-a-little-hermitage-15198, https://www.decanter.com/premium/hermitage-2023-report-and-top-scoring-wines-543883/. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.