M. Chapoutier, Hermitage, l'Ermite Rouge
Chapoutier L’Ermite made its debut in 1996 and is renowned for its magnificent age-worthiness. It has a very dark purple, almost black hue and a striking nose of dark fruit, spices and ink. It has very powerful silky tannins, with notes of smoke and pepper on the palate. The wine is produced from old vines, most of which are 80 -120 years old. Since 1991 these vines have been grown biodynamically.
Chapoutier L’Ermite is produced from some of the best terroir in the entire Hermitage appellation, with its steep hillsides and Tournon granite soils. The vineyards are located on the top of the famous hill of Hermitage, next to the chapel.
Depending on the vintage, the wine can be kept for 30 to 60 years, and sometimes even 50 to 75 years. On average only 5,000 bottles are produced each vintage.
2
As usual, Chapoutier's 2018 Ermitage l'Ermite is a standout among standouts. Crushed stone, blueberries, even a touch of herb feature on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is cool and crunchy but also ripe and generous. It's rich and long, with a firm, granitic structure that should enable two-plus decades of aging. This has it all. (JC)
£1,140.00
Founded in 1808, Maison M. Chapoutier is one of the most recognisable and oldest producers in the Rhone Valley. It is particularly renowned for its highly sought-after red and white single vineyard Ermitage cuvees, derived from the coveted Hill of Hermitage. This is the most famous northern Rhone appellation, producing extremely limited quantities of seriously long-lived reds and about a third as much full-bodied dry white.
Michel Chapoutier took charge in 1990 and became the seventh generation of his family to run the domaine. He is widely respected as one of the greatest winemakers of our time. With Michel at the helm, quality has soared in a spectacular way and he is now farming all his vineyards biodynamically and organically. A champion of low yields, he has also moved toward smaller new French oak casks and advocated keeping the wines unfiltered and unfined.
As fast as the quality has accelerated upwards since the 90s, the domaine has also grown in size. Outside of the flagship vineyards in Hermitage, Chapoutier has vineyards across the Rhône, including plots in Côte-Rôtie, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Condrieu. These span both single-vineyard expressions and generic AOC-level wines. Outside of the Rhone, Michel also invests in new winemaking projects across the globe, embracing new horizons and terroirs in Alsace, Provence, Roussillon, Portugal and Australia (Domaine Tournon).
As usual, Chapoutier's 2018 Ermitage l'Ermite is a standout among standouts. Crushed stone, blueberries, even a touch of herb feature on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is cool and crunchy but also ripe and generous. It's rich and long, with a firm, granitic structure that should enable two-plus decades of aging. This has it all. (JC)
Similar to the Le Pavillon with its liquid rock minerality, the 2018 Ermitage L’Ermite's inky purple/blue color is followed a gorgeous nose of blueberries, spring flowers, incense, cracked pepper, and spice. This flows to a more opulent, full-bodied, massively concentrated wine that has ripe, sweet tannins, no hard edges, and a huge finish. While the Pavillon has a more l'Ermite-like character in this vintage, the L'Ermite is more Pavillon-like with its beautiful opulence and decadence. I’ve no doubt both wines will show more classic characters this time next year from bottle.
An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black/blue fruits, Moroccan spice, potpourri and incense. Densely packed and impressively lively on the palate, offering intense blueberry, cassis, cherry compote and floral pastille flavors that firm up steadily on the back half. The floral and spice notes carry emphatically through an impressively long, youthfully tannic finish that leaves a smoky mineral flourish behind. (JR)
Big and powerfully structured, this is loaded with toasty richness to the concentrated mineral and white fruit flavors. Buttery nuances midpalate lead to a long finish that lingers with dried savory hints. (KM)
As part of the London City Bond (LCB) network, we can arrange transfer to any other LCB site for £15 + VAT (up to 10 cases of 12x75cl).
Transfer to any other storage facility is charged at UK delivery rates as per the below-
£25 + VAT – up to 3 cases 12x75cl / equivalent
£2.50 + VAT for every additional case 12x75cl / equivalent
UK duty paid delivery
Our current delivery charges for customers in the UK are shown below. Please remember that if you are taking delivery of wine bought and held in bond then duty and V.A.T. charges will be applied.
In some cases, we will be able to arrange delivery for the next day provided we are advised before 11.00am, however please give us as much notice as possible and note that during very busy periods, such as in the run-up to Christmas, special deadlines will apply.
For further details or to enquire about a specific delivery please email us enquiries@nelsonrarewine.com.
We offer daily, duty paid delivery service to the majority of UK postcodes at the below rates:
£25 + VAT – up to 3 cases 12x75cl / equivalent
£2.50 + VAT for every additional case 12x75cl / equivalent
Please note that these rates exclude Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isles of Scilly, The Isle of Wight, Central Scotland, Highlands & Scottish Islands.
Please contact us directly for a quote to these areas of the UK enquiries@nelsonrarewine.com.
International Delivery
For customers wishing to ship wines outside the UK we will arrange export paperwork and prepare wines to be collected by your freight forwarder of choice at an agreed date and time from LCB Burton Gateway. You will be responsible for the wines from the point at which they are collected by your forwarder.
If you would like us to arrange the export and onward delivery of your wines, please let us know and we will be happy to provide a quotation. We use a select number of trusted freight forwarders who specialise in moving fine and rare wines and can ship worldwide in temperature-controlled conditions if necessary and at competitive rates.
For deliveries outside the UK please telephone us on +44 1872 520 571 or email us enquiries@nelsonrarewine.com
We offer in bond storage (remaining duty and tax free) of any fine wines purchased from us at our custom controlled warehouse at £18 per 9 litre case (12 bottles, 6 magnums, etc.) or £15 per 4.5 litre or less a case (6 bottles, 3 magnums to 1 bottle) per year, plus V.A.T. This includes insurance and will apply to wines that remain uncollected or undelivered 30 days after the date of the sale.
Our full Terms and Conditions of Storage are available here.