2021 Ermitage Blanc de l'Oree (2018 Release)
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Tasting notes
The Hermitage de l’Orée is made from 60-70-year-old vines planted on alluvial soils that bring a fantastic unctuousness to the palate. The nose has fresh, earthy, wet-clay, mineral aromas and struck-match reductive notes. The wine is fantastically oily and rich on the palate – thick and viscous-like but contrasts beautifully with so much vibrancy and freshness. It is wonderfully mouth-filling, with a seamless texture, as well as a lovely salinity and aniseed spicy notes on the long finish. Despite the richness of the wine, it ends beautifully fresh and feels almost light on its feet.
Critic scores
Alistair Cooper MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Hints of honeyed peaches join ripe apricot and melon on the nose of Chapoutier's superb 2021 Ermitage de l'Orée. As always, it's 100% Marsanne from the clay soils of the Les Murets lieu-dit. Medium to full-bodied, it's ripe and succulent, with a long, briny and refreshing finish. It may be closing down by now, so try to hold off opening a bottle until around 2030—or allow several hours for decanting.
Showing similarly to last year and all Marsanne brought up mostly in demi-muids, the 2021 Ermitage De L'Orée is vibrant and focused, which is very much in the style of the vintage, with a kiss of clean reduction in its orange blossom, green almond, white flower, and subtly honeyed mineral-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, fresh, focused, yet nicely concentrated, it will evolve for 10-15 years. This was another fabulous tasting with Michel Chapoutier and his team, and it continues to be one of the highlight tastings I do in a year. The portfolio is massive, so there’s certainly something in here for everyone. Looking at the 2021s, I was able to retaste a handful of the flagship whites, and these appear to have shut down slightly. I wouldn’t touch bottles for another 3-5 years. The reds are leaner and focused, but balanced, and certainly impeccably made. However, the 2022s continue to trend here, starting around 2017 or 2018, toward fresher, lighter wines, both with the reds and whites. In addition, they’re all experimenting with whole cluster fermentations, which works beautifully in the wines I was able to taste.
Prominent struck match, lemon peel, acacia, ripe pear, yellow apple and vanilla traces introduce the sapid 2021 Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée. Full-bodied and rich, yet neatly maintaining elegance and freshness, the 2021 delivers a terrific expression of old-vine expression from the historic Hermitage appellation. It should drink well over the next decade.