2003 Hermitage Cuvee l'Essentiel

Only 3,000 bottles of the 2003 Hermitage l’Essentiel were produced from the most concentrated, port-like, atypical, but extraordinary barrels. A remarkable black/purple color to the rim is accompanied by a wine of tremendous unctuosity, surprising minerality and definition, prodigious concentration and glycerin, and high alcohol (15.6%) for Hermitage. Representing the essence of wine, it should drink well in 3-4 years, and last for three decades or more. Once all the baby fat falls away, it should be regarded as classic, although nothing like this has ever emerged from Hermitage in any vigneron’s lifetime. A Patrick Lesec Selection, various American importers, including Stacole Fine Wines, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998-0029, Classic Wines, Boston, MA; tel. (617) 469-5799, Fine Vines LLC, Maywood, IL; tel. (708) 343-5901, and Associated Wine Distributors, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-8048

(aged in 100% new barriques Medium ruby color. Room-filling aromas of dark berries, plum jam, cherry preserves, licorice candy, violet and rose. This one is almost too big for the mouth (the alcohol is 15%), offering incredible density, chewy texture and lush flavors of berry liqueur, chocolate, molasses and gingerbread. The endless finish is supple, velvety and utterly seamless.

(from the highest vines on pure granite; this was racked into a second set of new barrels at the end of April; 15+% alcohol, with a pH of 3. 85) Full ruby to the rim. A black hole of a nose: blueberry, blackberry, menthol, minerals, licorice and bitter chocolate. Dense, thick and huge; an extraordinarily concentrated elixir of an Hermitage, saturating the palate with black fruits and dark chocolate. A mineral freshness contributes to the very primary character of this wine but the texture is silky and seamless. From tiny, withered grapes, said Desmeure. But the vines kept their leaves, he maintained, and finished their vegetative cycle, nourishing the grapes until the very end. The index of total polyphenols is normally about 75 for his Hermitage, according to Desmeure, but this wine hit 125!