2014 Ermitage Le Meal Blanc
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Tasting notes
Vivid yellow-gold. Ripe citrus and pit fruits on the nose, along with suggestions of honey, chamomile and musky flowers. Deeply concentrated but surprisingly lively as well, offering palate-coating tangerine, pear nectar, sweet butter and fennel flavors underscored and lifted by a vein of zesty minerality. Shows impressive clarity and powerful thrust on a very long, broad finish that echoes the pear and floral notes.
Critic scores
Josh Raynolds
Josh Raynolds
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Pale gold. Vibrant, minerally and sharply focused on the highly perfumed nose, displaying an array of ripe citrus and orchard fruit aromas and deeper fig and honey qualities. Sappy and incisive on the palate; a vibrant mineral quality gives lift to the flavors of bitter pear skin, tangerine and honeysuckle. Deftly melds power and finesse, the mineral and floral component dominating the very long, seamless finish.
Similar in style to the hedonistically-styled Cuvee de l’Orée (especially when compared to the structured, mineral-laced l’Ermite), the 2014 Ermitage le Méal Blanc (aged in 10% new demi-muids) offers layers of celery seed, brioche, caramelized pineapple and citrus oil on the nose. Thick, rich, voluptuous and full bodied with a massive finish, drink this sensational white anytime over the coming two to three decades.