Hermitage

These wines can be hard to judge as to when they are open for business.  This bottle was drinking beautifully.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with peach, wax, buttered popcorn and lemon.  Also a nice touch of minerality.  Full bodied.  Oily texture.  Good balance.  On the palate, dried peach, apples with underlying minerals and slight char.  Long finish.  This is complex and deep.  Probably not at peak but showing a nice maturity.  Drink over the next twenty years.  This would work well with Veal Chops.  

The best wines from Guigal are generally considered his Cote Rotie's but the Hermitage doesn't lag far behind.  On the other hand, their Hermitage is much more affordable and is certainly worth looking at.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has black raspberries, clay, spice, some oak, violets and smoke.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Well balanced.  On the palate, there is plenty of black raspberry fruit but overall this wine needs time.  Plenty of impenetrable depth.  Great texture.  Long finish.  Ideally hold this for another seven to ten years and drink over the ne

It was nice to revisit this wine (See https://www.intowine.com/reviews/2014-jl-chave-s%C3%A9lection-hermitage-...) as it gets closer to full maturity.  This wine has really exceeded all of my expectations.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, slight dried floral note and a fresh earthiness.  Full bodied.  great texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with some underlying funk and hints of va

This was the first vintage of this wine as it replaced the La Petit Chapelle bottling.  It seems to be a bottling made for more immediate drinking than the La Chapelle bottling.  It is a very classic Hermitage nevertheless and at age 8, this seems to be just settling in.  Purple in color with ruby hues, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, and smoked herbs.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with a slight floral (violet?) note and smoke.  Great acidity.  Long finish.  This is drinking well and should easily go another ten years.  Ni

Inky purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, clay, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is deep and youthful.  Delicious.  Black raspberries, roasted herbs and black pepper  Long finish.  This is a big wine that will benefit from another five to ten years in the cellar.  It will drink well for twenty years, but if drinking soon, then give it a few hours in a decanter.  It will work with bigger foods.  Roasted duck should work nicely.

Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is initially quite spicy.  With air, there is also black raspberries, black pepper, slight bacon fat and slight roasted herbs.  Medium to full bodied.  A nice backbone of  acidity. On the palate, black cherries, black raspberries, and black pepper with underlying char.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well already and quite open.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  Very nice on its own, this would be great with a Braised Lamb stew.  

This is one of the superstar wines from Hermitage.  The vintage is good but not great and the wines are maturing perhaps a bit sooner.  That said, what a treat to drink a mature bottle of this wine.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, a bit of chocolate, black pepper, cloves and slight bacon fat.  Full bodied.  Tannins mostly resolved.  Good balance.  On the palate, there is a nice complexity.  Layers of black raspberries, roasted herbs, and black pepper.  Moderately long finish.  This is delicious and at or close to peak.  No hurry

Just a great showing for this wine.  It can be difficult to know when to open a white Hermitage with age on it.  The wines are mysterious, shutting down and opening up on their own schedule.  This bottle seemed old at first but kept getting "younger" as it opened.  Golden in color (darker than expected), clear and bright.  The nose is interesting with pears, slight orange peel, hints of wax and maybe a bit of a floral tone.  Full bodied.  On the palate, at first this seemed a bit oxidized but not shot.  With air, those flavors disappeared to be followed by pears, slight citrus and char.  Go

A white wine from one of the top producers of Hermitage, Paul Jaboulet.  A 60/40 blend of Marsanne and Rousanne.  It seems to  be a bit "lighter" in style but that works very well.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  It has a fresh air quality along with slight pineapple, a bit of wax, and some apricot.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, red apples and slight citrus.  Long finish.  This is tasty on its own and will work well with sea food or fowl.   Drink over the next ten years.  

Guigal makes a lot of wine and just about all of it is excellent and priced fairly.  This wine is no exception.  It is 95% Marsanne with 5% Roussanne.  It sees 2 years in second year oak barrels.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is waxy with red apples.  Oily texture.  Full bodied.  On the palate, apples with a bit of spice.  Crisp-ish.  Good finish.  This is delicious and a wonderful wine.  Great on its own, this will be food friendly with sea food, ham or fowl.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.