2015 Ermitage Le Pavillon
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The exquisite 2015 Ermitage Le Pavillon walks onto the scene with pronounced tobacco, loamy earth, dried meat, graphite dust and dried red fruits. What makes this otherworldly Le Pavillon so compelling is the juxtaposition of hardcore intensity with an almost weightless, dancing presence on the palate, leaving a beguiling sense of freshness that compels another sip. Credit where credit is due, this is a breathtakingly beautiful expression of red Hermitage, unwinding with mind-boggling finesse and nuance on a long, resonant finish. The 2015 is now firmly within its prime drinking window.
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Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
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Full bottle 1,391 g. Hot, dry vintage. From Les Bessards on rocky soil composed of poorly decomposed Tournon granite. Coarse-grained granite, black mica and fractured quartz inclusions. Hand-picked at optimal ripeness. Vinification in small concrete vats after destemming. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts and moderate use of sulphur. Maceration for 3 to 4 weeks. Aged 18 to 20 months in barrels and small casks, with an average of 15% new barrels. Shaded garnet. Still youthful. Very meaty and savoury with tannins still obvious. Long and grainy-textured. I'd wait another five years before broaching this. (JR)
Bright purple. Assertive, highly complex aromas of black and blue fruit liqueur, licorice candy and potpourri carry an exotic spice overtone. Stains the palate with concentrated blueberry, cassis and cola flavors, while a suave violet pastille nuance builds steadily with air. Velvety tannins shape a strikingly long, chewy, mineral- and spice-tinged finish that shows outstanding power and energy.
Another perfect wine, the 2015 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from the Bessards lieu-dit on Hermitage, which is pure granite soils. I've said it before, but will say it again, this is unquestionably the finest, most singular vineyard for Syrah in the world. Cassis, graphite, smoked herbs, liquid rocks and violet aromas give way to a huge, concentrated, opulent and off-the-charts beauty that just hints at its ultimate potential. I wouldn’t think about opening bottles for at least a decade, after which it will keep for 4-5 decades. Enough can’t be said about the quality coming from the estate of Michel Chapoutier. Taking over the domaine from his father in the late 1980s (his first vintage was 1989), Michel quickly moved the estate completely to bio-dynamic farming as well as building a new, state of the art winery located just outside of Tain l’Hermitage. These are classic, traditionally made wines that are never acidified (or chaptalized), are brought up mostly in demi-muids (with plenty of used oak), and bottled unfined and unfiltered. He also continues to grow the brand (this is easily one of the largest tastings I do every year from a single producer) and has added two new Côte Rôties in 2015, the Quatrain and Neve cuvees. The Quatrain is reserved for grapes that didn’t make it into the selection parcellaire releases, and the Neve comes from a single parcel in the northern part of the appellation. Both are impressive wines, although I don’t envy anyone trying to explain the full portfolio to buyers in the market. In addition, while it’s easy to focus on the top cuvées from this estate, the portfolio is packed with incredible values at just about every price point. These reviews focus on the 2015 and 2016 vintages, with all the 2015s tasted out of bottle and the majority of the 2016s still resting in barrel. The 2015 vintage is a monumental one for this estate and matches (and in a few cases, eclipses) what was accomplished in 2009 and 2010. These are ripe, concentrated, structured wines that are going to demand cellar time. In contrast, the 2016s are more elegant and silky, with terrific purity of fruit. They don’t have the sheer grandeur of fruit found in the 2015s, yet are seriously concentrated and have no shortage of tannins and structure.