Wine Reviews
The 2021 Hermitage La Maison Bleue comes from the eastern side of the hill (more limestone and loess soils). It has a vibrant, medium-bodied, red-fruited profile as well as medium-bodied richness, supple, elegant tannins, and a seamless mouthfeel, with some classic Hermitage leather, pepper, and rose petal nuances. I love its overall balance, and this is an Hermitage that will hit prime time with just 2-4 years of bottle age and evolve nicely over the following decade.
Coming from two parcels in the southern part of the appellation, the 2021 Saint Joseph La Croix Des Vignes has a Pinot Noir-like vibe in its pretty framboise and wild strawberry fruits as well as peppery, violet, and herbal nuances. It’s medium-bodied, elegant, and nicely balanced. Drink bottles over the coming decade.
The 2022 Hermitage La Chapelle brings more structure and depth, yet plays in the similar style of the estate. Beautiful cassis, graphite, crushed violets, and ground pepper all emerge on the nose, and it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a silky, elegant, layered mouthfeel, a terrific sense of minerality, and outstanding length. It’s not going to require a huge amount of cellaring and should have a broad drink window.
Two-thirds Marsanne and one-third Roussanne that was brought up all in larger concrete tanks, the 2022 Hermitage Le Chevalier De Sterimberg Blanc is bright and chiseled, with honeyed orange, minty herbs, crushed citrus, and sappy flower-like aromatics. These carry over to the palate, where the wine is medium-bodied, has a fresh, focused, elegant mouthfeel, and a salty, mineral-laced finish.
The flagship 2021 Hermitage La Chapelle (which is now released under the “Domaine de la Chapelle” label) was vinified in stainless steel and aged in 15% new barrels, with 10% in concrete eggs. It has an almost Côte Rôtie-like elegance and has perfumed aromatics of red and blue fruits, peppery herbs, smoke, and sappy, minty herbs. Medium-bodied and nicely balanced, with fine-grained tannins, it has solid underlying depth and structure, and warrants 4-5 years of bottle age. It will have 15+ years of prime drinking.
