Hermitage

A full, rich, and elegant nose leading on to a palate packed with soft, ripe fruit, good grip, and loads of character. Approachable now but would really benefit from another 5 years or so of bottle ageing.

The 2015 Hermitage is in bottle and it's a profound, long-lived wine, although the 2017 may perhaps surpass it in terms of pure pleasure. The 2015 is a bit meaty and cedary up front, backed by a mix of berry fruit and spice variations. But what stands out is the wine's immaculate structure and balance. It's firm and tannic without being hard or unyielding, finishing with fold after fold of velvety richness. While the impatient can certainly derive some pleasure from it even now, I'd opt for cellaring it a decade or more.
Joe Czerwinski - 31/10/2018

From a little lower down the hill, but still part of the solid granite Bessards commune, Ermitage Rouge le Pavillon is so-named in reference to the ruins of an old stone house that pinpoints its location on the slope. The wine is dense, sinewy and long, with distinctive black cherry fruits, liquorice and cigar box notes. The broad and muscular palate is uncompromising and very long.

Hermitage La Chapelle is named after the small hermit's Chapel built in 1235 on the Hermitage hill, the wine regularly amazes with its incredible array of flavours - fruity and enticing when young but acquiring complex leathery and gamey overtones with age.  This is a wine that is ready to drink and will compliment any Autumnal or Winter fare very well.

A rustic bouquet with dried cranberries and redcurrants, sous bois, tobacco leaf, tanned saddle leather and spice.  A gentle brush of dark red fruit at the front palate, leading to a lifted mineral acidity and finely intertwined tannin.  A charming and gentle style of Hermitage from Jaboulet Aine, with nineteen years already in the bank, this is an elegant “traditional” style of Northern Rhone Syrah to drink now and maybe keep another 1 – 2 years.”
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

1996 La Chapelle is a classic example of mature Syrah, garnet in colour with delicate aromas of wild mushroom, stewed fruit and a slight earthiness. The palate is softly textured, with very fine tannins and a high acidity which carries the savoury gamey notes through to the finish. Great for drinking now, as it is expected to arrive in November, I could think of nothing better than enjoying with some roasted game over the festive period. It will hold on for another year, but will not get any better.
Chris Lamb, Private Account Manager

The nose of this fully developed but still richly coloured wine is extremely enticing, the overall feeling is one of soft, very ripe Autumnal fruits – baked plums, damsons with a touch of rich and earthy roasted beetroots. There is even a suggestion of rather old fashioned mature Pauillac fruit, with similarly comforting notes of polished sweet oak. The palate has so many layers to it, it is fascinating – this is not to glug and swill rather to enjoy and savour. There is still tremendous energy to this wine, which now at age 19 is quite unusual, owing to the vibrant acidity which keeps the finish lively and really on its toes.   This is unquestionably for drinking now and over the coming year to 18 months; it is the epitome of well-aged and mature Hermitage which is a perfect match for Pheasant, Boar or any game dish.
Gary Owen, Private Account Manager

From one of the best sites in the Mal commune, strewn with distinctive pebbles, this is a full-bodied Hermitage, dark chocolate, undergrowth and liqueur de kirsch all  integral parts of an extremely promising structure.
Simon Field M.W. - Rhne Buyer

The alliance of two of the greatest houses of the Rhône, Jaboulet and Perrin, with Nicholas Jaboulet at its helm, was always a very promising one. The promise has quickly materialised and the 2010s are even better than the already excellent 2009s. The best sites and the best growers have been harnessed. As Nicolas eloquently puts it, the Perrins at Beaucastel exploit many different grapes on fundamentally the same terroir, but his goal here is to cultivate what is essentially the same grape (albeit dependent on the colour of the wine) but in differing terroirs

This is a very exciting Hermitage, traditional and faithful to this very “proper” vintage in its constitution, but with a classic lifted Syrah character which adds a certain ethereal magic. The stuff of the legendary Hermitages of yore…

South-east facing alluvial soils often make L’Orée the most steely and linear of the whites; the 2012 demonstrates this with gusto, its notes of thyme on the nose and fennel on the palate underlining once more the boundless complexity of this sometimes misunderstood varietal.Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer 

Surely the most lauded vinous portfolio in the Rhône, the Parcellaires make up a definitive statement of terroir, the majority of which is located in the tiny appellation of Hermitage. Volumes are appropriately modest.

From vines located in the parcel of Les Murets, situated to the east of the appellation, this is 90-year-old Marsanne at its flinty, feisty best, the tropical fruit at its core tempered by a chalky seam of austerity that will ensure a happy outcome for the happy few.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer

These wines sit at the very pinnacle of perfection; year in year out they are applauded as the best in the Rhône Valley. They therefore need no further introductory superlatives from me, merely the tedious reminder that they are very scarce and, needless to say, very much in demand. We only have small volumes of the wines featured below, so I would encourage you to place any orders for these as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Well-named for several different reasons (although not to describe the personality of its progenitor) l’Ermite Blanc is somewhat austere and inscrutable in youth. Like a great dry Savannières or a fine Montrachet, or, say, a novel by George Eliot, it requires patience and effort. Last time I tasted this it caught me on an off day and I couldn’t quite understand it; the time before that it seemed to be a paradigm of perfection…
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer

These wines sit at the very pinnacle of perfection; year in year out they are applauded as the best in the Rhône Valley. They therefore need no further introductory superlatives from me, merely the tedious reminder that they are very scarce and, needless to say, very much in demand. We only have small volumes of the wines featured below, so I would encourage you to place any orders for these as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

From vines located in the parcel of Les Murets, this is a ripe expression of 100 percent Marsanne, its nutty texture backed by a youthful, almost tropical ebullience, its seductive aromatics dominated by blonde tobacco, fennel and sour honey. The puppy fat will fall away with time allowing even greater complexity to confirm initial qualitative suspicions.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer

In the late autumn of 2014 I was lucky enough to blind-taste a range of red Hermitage wines with John Livingstone- Learmonth and Andew Jefford. I have yet to see the final article, yet it emerged that my top two wines were both Chapoutier Parcellaires. This is a truly outstanding range, as indeed one would hope it to be, given the historical reputation of the hill of Hermitage and the fact that Chapoutier are in the enviable position of owning more of its vines than anyone else. A great responsibility, which they discharge with consummate skill. Leading off three single-vintage whites from Hermitage, the stunning 2013 Ermitage Cuvee de L’Orée has an off-the-hook bouquet that includes just about everything you could think of when considering Hermitage Blanc. White peach, white flowers, almond paste, quince and wet rock are just some of the nuances, and it packs a serious punch on the palate, with full-bodied richness, a flamboyant, expansive texture and riveting focus and purity. Give it a year or so and drink it over the following 2-3 decades.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate Issue#216 Dec 2014

From 65-year-old vines, rooted deep in limestone, the Rocoules is made from 92% Marsanne and 8% Roussanne, the latter adding aromatics in youth and complexity well into maturity. Texture is key here, combining a rich viscosity with pinpoint levels of acidity. The colour is rich and generous and the palate is already honeyed with a profound mineral seam adding transcendent freshness.