2001 Ermitage Blanc, M.Chapoutier, Le Meal (750ml)

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Vintage: 2001
Format: 750ml
Wine Name: Ermitage Blanc
Vineyard: Le Meal
Designation: Ermitage Blanc
Appellation: Hermitage
Producer: M. Chapoutier
Varietal: Marsanne
Type: White
Country: France
Region: Rhone
Sub-Region: Northern Rhone
Alcohol:

Tasting note: Amazing. Incredibly rich, ripe and thick, it teases you with its sweet aromas. It has all the hallmarks of a dessert wine, yet on the palate, it offers layers of citrus, dried pineapple, dried fig and dried apricot, and the finish is that of a wine fermented dry. This means it should go well with cream sauces accompanying chicken and other recipes. Drink now through 2015. 555 cases made. (94pts. PM, Wine Spectator)

Tasted: Aug. 31
Score: 94
Drink: Through 2015

Tasting note: The 2001 Ermitage Le Meal is more delineated, smoky, and citrusy, with less fat and unctuosity than the 2000. Nevertheless, it is a big, thickly-textured effort with huge notes of ripe honeysuckle, pear, and peach. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020. These uncompromising offerings from a young genius are not meant for consumers who want something to drink immediately. They are the essence of bio-dynamically farmed vineyard sites cropped incredibly low, given extended fermentations with indigenous yeasts, and rarely touched until they go into the bottle unfined and unfiltered. In most vintages, the wines are not even racked off their lees, which only adds to their natural style. These are truly remarkable wines, but for most readers, patience is the operative rule as they generally need a good 8-10 years to strut their stuff. Once moribund, over the last 12 years, this firm has become one of the reference points for nearly all the Rhone Valley appellations since the brash yet immensely talented Michel Chapoutier took over in the late eighties. The single vineyard offerings are as good as Rhone Valley wines can be. Moreover, Chapoutier continues to upgrade the quality of those wines offered in more significant quantities than the 500 or so cases each of the single vineyard offerings. (92-95pts. Robert Parker)

Tasted: Jun. 2003
Score: 92-95
Drink: 2007-20

Tasting note: Deeper peach skin color. Very ripe aromas of vineyard peach, honey and smoke. Fat and thick but enlivened by bright acidity. Like a confiture of orchard fruits, with a chewy, saline quality. A warmer, more massive Hermitage blanc, in need of bottle aging. (90+pts. Stephen Tanzer)

Tasted: Jan/Feb 2003
Score: 90+
Drink: N/A