M. Chapoutier - Ermitage L'Ermite 2020 (750ml)
Price: $499.99
| Producer | M. Chapoutier |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhone Valley |
| Subregion | Ermitage |
| Varietal | Rhone Blend |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 6877 |
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Jeb Dunnuck: 100 Points
In the same qualitative ballpark as the Pavillon, the 2020 Ermitage L'Ermite is even tighter and more chiseled. It too is perfectly proportioned and insanely pure, with notes of crème de cassis, burning embers, blueberries, camphor, charcoal, and crushed stone. While the soils here are less granitic than from the Bessards, this cuvée always seems to show even more minerality in every vintage I've tasted. Incredibly concentrated, full-bodied, and yet still flawlessly balanced and elegant.
James Suckling: 100 Points
If you ever wondered why Hermitage had such a special reputation then you need to taste this towering masterpiece of this appellation. Spectacular mountain freshness as well as enormous concentration and underplayed tannic power. The spicy complexity of this wine needs some time to unfold, but that is the best invested time I can imagine. Fabulous mineral freshness at the finish that you don’t ever want to let go of.
Vinous: 99 Points
Glass-staining violet color. Intensely perfumed ripe black and blue fruits, exotic spices, potpourri, olive and incense aromas are sharpened by a smoky mineral flourish. Juicy and expansive in the mouth, displaying alluringly sweet blueberry, cherry preserve, fruitcake and mocha flavors, along with hints of licorice and candied flowers. The floral and spice notes reverberate on a fabulously long, penetrating finish that features mounting tannins and an insistent mineral note. For me, this looks to be the best (ever so slightly!) of a truly stellar group of single-site Hermitages here in this vintage.
Wine Advocate: 98 Points
The 2020 Ermitage l'Ermite is a letdown only in the context of the incomparably magnificent 2019 version. The pure cassis fruit comes across as almost a bit one-dimensional, but that one fruit dimension is so broad and deep as to make any objections mere quibbles. Full-bodied and tannic, marked by a granite-rooted sense of austerity, the wine finishes silky, long and vibrant—another tour de force from one of Hermitage's most privileged sites.
