2018 Hermitage
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Tasting notes
Opaque violet color. Highly perfumed aromas of ripe cherry, dark berry preserves, candied flowers, olive and smoky minerals. Juicy and broad in the mouth, offering spice-tinged bitter cherry, blackberry, licorice and fruitcake flavors that show fine clarity and turn sweeter as the wine opens up. Finishes on an emphatic floral note, displaying strong tenacity, steadily building tannins and reverberating dark berry and spice notes.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Moving to the Hermitage releases, the 2018 Hermitage is terrific, and readers will love to have bottles in the cellar. From a great vintage for the Northern Rhône, it has a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, yet wonderfully elegant profile as well as complex notes of darker fruits, pepper, cured meats, and leather. It gets spicier and more nuanced with time in the glass and already offers pleasure, yet it has the structure and balance to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 15+ years.
After seeing this wine two years ago, I have to admit a bit of disappointment with its showing on this occasion. The full-bodied 2018 Hermitage is rich and velvety in feel, with complex aromas and flavors of dried spices, hickory-smoked meat and red raspberries, yet it lacks the profundity and length I was expecting. It's possible I was overenthusiastic last time around or that it's a bit closed down after bottling, but it's still an excellent bottle of wine and could improve with short-term cellaring.
No new oak. Tank sample. Despite no new oak, there is plenty of spice on the palate with a cereal, mealy character and a long, wheaty finish. Glossy but nicely balanced with sufficient acid and toasty notes on the finish. Substantial. (RH)