2012 Ermitage Les Dionnieres
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Tasting notes
Inky ruby. An assertively perfumed bouquet displays aromas of fresh dark berries, cola, smoked meat and incense, with a mineral quality building in the glass. The palate offers juicy, sharply focused blackberry and cherry compote flavors, with a touch of cracked pepper contributing lift and spicy cut. Closes on a smoky note, with repeating spiciness, building tannins and excellent persistence.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
On another level, and playing with the upper tier wines in the appellation, the 2012 Hermitage les Dionnieres Estate sports an inky purple color to go with brilliant notes of powdered rock, cassis, licorice and game. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, layered and yet still elegant and seamless, it's a serious effort that will have 15+ years of overall longevity.
(15% new oak): Bright purple. Wild, high-pitched aromas of dark berries, smoked meat and incense, with a violet note emerging with aeration. Sweet, focused and vibrant, showing lively mineral lift to its complex dark fruit and floral flavors. Textbook northern Rhone syrah--or, to be more precise, serine. Finishes very long, with fine, slow-building tannins and intense mineral lift and cut.
Syrah, in oak barrels 14-18 months. Clay-limestone. Liquorice top note on very glossy, worked fruit. A massively concentrated wine that manages not to be too drying. Friendly and impressive. Very clean finish. (JR)