Ermitage l'Ermite Rouge, Maison M. Chapoutier 2021

Descend into this labyrinth of spices and you may never return. The black fruit and the most perfect violets will take you prisoner and never release you. Absolutely astounding tannin structure, not from the quantity, but from the finesse and the beauty. Then the explosive finish that pulls you up in the direction of syrah nirvana. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

While all the Hermitage releases here are beautiful wines, if I had to pick one. it would be the 2021 Ermitage L'Ermite, which comes from a later, cooler terroir of decomposed granite (and even a touch of limestone). As with the other releases here, it was destemmed, and this cuvée will see 18 months in 25% new French oak. Violets, crushed stone, liquid smoke, leather, and assorted darker, almost blue fruits emerge on the nose, and it's medium to full-bodied and has a laser-like focus on the palate, with fine yet building tannins. There's a certain old school-like vibrancy and structure here, and it's going to warrant 3-5 years of bottle before showing some accessibility. The alcohol levels for all three of the single vineyard Hermitage are between 13.5% and 13.8%. I would expect all of these to have 20-25 years of prime drinking.