2019 Ermitage Le Meal
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Tasting notes
Saturated purple. Deeply pitched blackberry, cherry, olive paste, vanilla, bacon fat and pungent floral qualities on the intensely perfumed, mineral-accented nose. Sappy and densely packed yet vibrant as well, offering bitter cherry, dark berry liqueur, smoked meat, mocha and candied violet flavors and a hint of salty olive paste. Shows superb detail and mineral thrust on the youthfully tannic finish, which hangs on with strong, floral-driven persistence. x000D There's a lot going on here but, by all means, give it some time. 50% new oak.
Critic scores
Average Score
Alistair Cooper MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Even better, the 2019 Ermitage Le Méal is blockbuster stuff and is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Coming from the warmest terroir on Hermitage, this beauty boasts a deep purple/plum color to go with incredible aromatics of blue fruits, lavender, chocolate, burning embers, and violets. These all carry to a full-bodied, opulent Hermitage with a round, expansive mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and one heck of a great finish. It needs plenty of air to show at its best today, and even then, its tannins clamp down on the finish, and that’s despite being covered by a wealth of baby fat. Give this utterly brilliant Hermitage 4-5 years of bottle age and it should pretty much blow you away over the following 20-25 years or so.
A big, beefy version of Hermitage, the 2019 Ermitage Le Méal features cedar and vanilla-accented notes of cassis, blackberries and black olives. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it finishes long and velvety, with undertones of salted licorice and gently dusty tannins.
100% Syrah. Aged in oak barrels (30–50% new) for about 14–18 months. Barrel sample. Tasted blind. Almost opaque in the glass. Graphite, earthy nose with tobacco and blackberry. A core of concentrated cool blue fruit with beautifully judged fine peppery tannins. Layered intense purple-fruit-saturated mid palate and a chalky sensation towards the end of the palate. Very powerful, wonderfully rich and dense. (AC)