2016 Ermitage Le Meal
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Tasting notes
Dark purple. Highly expressive black and blue fruit preserve, exotic spice, peony and smoked meat scents show excellent clarity and pick up hints of vanilla and licorice with air. Deeply concentrated, spice-tinged dark berry and bitter cherry flavors are complemented by a hint of candied flowers on the back half. Broad and chewy in texture, finishing with strong, floral- and spice-dominated persistence and youthful tannins that lend solid grip. Fermented in concrete tanks and raised in oak demi-muids , 40% of them new, for 18 months.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Aromas of licorice, dark stones, pepper and a wealth of fragrant spices, as well as tar and spiced dark chocolate. The palate has a very intense feel with plate-like tannins, carrying a wealth of dark plums, dark chocolate and long, slow-burning spices. Try from 2026.
Lastly, the 2016 Ermitage Le Méal is the top wine from Ferraton, and rightly so, as it’s a magical wine in 2016. Rocking notes of black raspberries, blackberries, toasted spices, tapenade, and dry aged beef all emerge from the glass, and it hits the palate with a wealth of material yet stays balanced, layered, and seamless. It's a sensational wine that's up with the top wines of the vintage. Hats off to the team at Ferraton for this remarkable wine as well as their full lineup of wines in 2016. I feel as though my ratings on the wines of Ferraton go up every year, and these 2016s are another brilliant, incredibly consistent lineup from this team. It’s worth mentioning that Ferraton is run by Michel Chapoutier. However, they have a separate, designated winemaking team. The only drawback to these wines is that, by and large, they’re made in tiny quantities.
The crown jewel of the Ferraton holdings is a parcel of le Méal. The 2016 Ermitage Le Méal is creamy, supple and sexy, with attractive notes of purple raspberries, black olives and complex herb shadings. It's full-bodied, with a lingering, velvety finish.