2013 Hermitage La Chapelle
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From a cooler, more challenging vintage for the Rhône, yet one that was certainly better in the north than the south, the 2013 Hermitage La Chapelle reveals a vivid purple hue as well as beautiful, cooler climate black raspberries, mulberries, white pepper, crushed stone, and spicy, sandalwood-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it exudes class and elegance, with silky tannins, perfect balance, and a great finish. I can't say it's a classic La Chapelle, as the usual smoky, meaty, soy-like nuances are missing, but this is just a complete, gorgeous Hermitage that will evolve gracefully over the coming 20-25 years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
The Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Bright purple. Sexy, highly perfumed scents of ripe boysenberry, cherry cola, smoky Indian spices and potpourri take on a vibrant mineral quality in the glass. Smooth, expansive and impressively deep, showing a surprisingly delicate touch to the sweet black and blue fruit, floral pastille and spicecake flavors. Smooth, slow-building tannins come up slowly and add focus to an extremely long, juicy, mineral- and floral-driven finish.
A much more structured, even austere, Hermitage than the La Petite Chapelle release, the 2013 Hermitage la Chapelle came from minuscule yields of ten to 18 hectoliters per hectare and was aged 15-18 months in 20% new French oak. Not harvested until the 12th of October, it offers a sensational bouquet of blackberry and black raspberry fruits, powdered rock, gunpowder and pepper. Medium to full-bodied, with good (though maybe not great) levels of concentration, it has high, yet beautifully polished tannin, integrated acidity, and terrific cut and focus on the finish. Give bottles 4-5 years of cellaring and enjoy over the following two decades.
Inky purple. Heady, mineral-accented aromas of dried cherry, blackberry and pungent herbs, with a sexy potpourri nuance building in the glass. Juicy, concentrated and broad, offering vibrant cherry compote and licorice pastille flavors and a hint of fruitcake. Supple, fine-grained tannins give shape to the penetrating, smoky finish, which leaves sappy black and blue fruit notes behind.