2011 Ermitage Rouge, L'Ermite, M. Chapoutier, Rhône
- Red
- Dry
- Full Bodied
- Syrah
Ready - youthful
- Jeb Dunnuck
- 98+/100
- Jancis Robinson MW
- 18/20
- Robert Parker
- 95-98/100
Product: 20118007140
Description
Many of the Syrah and Marsanne vines which provide fruit for this wine pre-date phylloxera, and are therefore well over a hundred years old. The yields are understandably low for such venerable fruit. It is a powerful and masculine wine; the 2011 may well be less concentrated than the magisterial 2010 but it has an unrivalled complexity, with an encyclopaedic treat of sensations only set to intensify over the next couple of decades.
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.
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.
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2011
Maturity Ready - youthful
Grape List Syrah
Body Full Bodied
Producer Maison Chapoutier
Critics reviews
Jeb Dunnuck 98+/100
As expected, the 2011 Ermitage lErmite, which comes from the lieu-dit of the same name, is more backward and focused, with a slightly closed, tight profile. Slowly giving up ample cassis and black raspberry fruit, graphite, licorice and edgy minerality, it is full-bodied, deeply concentrated and tannic, yet still never puts a foot wrong and is perfectly balanced and seamless. Give it 3-4 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following two decades or more.jeb_dunnuck - 30/12/2013
Drink 2017 - 2033
Jancis Robinson MW 18/20
Dark crimson. Very fruity nose. Big and bold and brawny. Glossy. Lots of ripeness followed by structure and tannins. Very youthful. Hint of liquorice. Some life and very substantial but not aggressively chewy. A bit flashier than the average Hermitage. jancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com – 20 Aug 2012
Drink 2017 - 2033
Robert Parker 95-98/100
The opaque black/purple-tinged 2011 Ermitage l’Ermite offers a combination of crushed stones, creme de cassis, blackberry liqueur, barbecue smoke and roasted meats. It is a powerful, slightly austere, backward effort that will need 5-6 years of bottle age after its release next year. It may turn out to be a 30-50-year wine in a vintage that made relatively forward wines. In that sense, it is an outlier in this vintage. In November of this year, Michel Chapoutier finally made the cover of The Wine Spectator. The accompanying article said essentially the same things I had written about over twenty years ago. More importantly, I am thrilled that Chapoutier received this attention because it has long been deserved. History will record that Michel Chapoutier is a revolutionary. He is also a highly emotional man whose infectious love of primitive art, historic books, classical music and, of course, terroir and winemaking are seemingly impossible to harness. Michel Chapoutier was among the first in France to embrace the radical biodynamic agricultural teachings, for which he was initially criticized, but is now praised. He was also the first to print all his labels in Braille, something that cynics considered to be a gimmick, but ask the National Association for the Blind what they think. Coming from a famous family, but moving in a direction unlike any of its previous members, Michel Chapoutier is self-taught. What he has accomplished over the last two decades or more is one of the great wine stories of the modern era. robert_parker, Wine Advocate #204, Dec 2012
Drink 2017 - 2033
About this wine
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries. It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness. South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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Maison Chapoutier
Applying his usual break-neck rigour to the presidency of InterRhône has not in any way distracted Michel Chapoutier. His range is more impressive in scope than ever, providing the most complete dissection of the region’s styles and terroir. Founded in 1808, Michel took charge in 1988 and became the seventh generation of his family to run the domaine. Since then, quality has soared and he is now farming all his vineyards biodynamically. He also invests in new winemaking projects across the globe, as far-flung as Australia. His children, in particular his daughter, Mathilde, are now increasingly involved in the day-to-day management of the maison, bringing with her her entrepreneurial skills and vision.
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