2003 Hermitage, L'Ermite, M. Chapoutier (750ml)

Your Price: $375.00

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Vintage: 2003
Format: 750ml
Wine Name: Hermitage
Vineyard: l’Ermite
Designation: Ermitage
Appellation: Hermitage
Producer: M. Chapoutier
Varietal: Syrah
Type: Red
Country: France
Region: Rhone
Sub-Region: Northern Rhone
Alcohol:

Tasting note: This really shows the vintage's character, with a wall of cocoa, tar and bacony toast covering the exotically ripe plum, blackberry and boysenberry fruit. Dense and muscular, with the power dial turned up to 11, but pulls it off thanks to exquisite balance and cut on the finish. Drink now through 2030. 300 cases made. (99pts. JM, Wine Spectator)

Tasted: May 15, 2006
Score: 99
Drink: Now - 2030

Tasting note: In terms of pure perfection and singularity, the black/purple-colored 2003 Ermitage l’Ermite is hauntingly perfect. A gorgeous perfume of flowers, black and blue fruits intermixed with a liqueur of rocks soars from the glass of this extraordinary wine. Full-bodied and multilayered, with magnificent concentration, and a stunning freshness and precision that are hard to believe given the frightfully low acidity, this is an extraordinary expression of terroir and vintage character that must be tasted to be believed. While it will be less approachable in its youth than some of its siblings, it will last for 40-50 years. (100pts. Robert Parker)

Tasted: Feb. 2006
Score: 100
Drink: 2006-56

Tasting note: Medium ruby. Dense, powerful, imploded aromas of blackberry, creme de cassis, coffee liqueur, pipe tobacco and smoked meat. The texture of this wine is impossibly lush and velvety, and the superconcentrated, sweet essence-of-dark-berry flavors are also incredibly lively. Wonderfully sweet, lush and endless on the finish. You'd need a squeegee to remove this from your palate. (97pts. Steven Tanzer)

Tasted: Jan/Feb 2006
Score: 97
Drink: N/A