2022 Ermitage Le Meal

Currants, blackberries, smoked meats, leather, graphite, and crushed stone all define the 2022 Ermitage Le Méal. Medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, and beautifully balanced, it shows a more restrained, elegant style than usual. Mostly destemmed, this was raised in 70% puncheons and 30% demi-muids, with 15% being new, for 18 months. It will shine for 20-30 years. Drink 2025-2055. This was another standout tasting with Michel Chapoutier and his team, and the range continues to be among the most extensive and consistently high-quality in the region. The lineup covers every major appellation in the Northern Rhône, with a continued emphasis on finesse, vibrancy, and site expression. Starting around 2017 or 2018, there's been a clear move toward a lighter touch, and whole cluster fermentations are now used more selectively across the range. On the white side, the team is picking earlier, working with lower alcohols, more reductive winemaking, and aiming to hold onto more CO? in the finished wines, part of an effort to limit early oxidation. Still, I remain unconvinced that the shift will yield better aging potential, or better wines for that matter. Looking back, it is often the richer, more powerful vintages like 2009 and 2010 that have aged best and are still youthful, while livelier, more acid-driven years such as 2001 already show clear signs of oxidation. More importantly, even if these leaner styles age longer, they tend to remain lean, linear wines without the texture, layers, richness, and depth that define the best whites of the Northern Rhône. Hermitage, and to a degree the entire region, remains one of the few places where Marsanne and Roussanne can reach true ripeness and bring incredible richness while still staying pure and light on their feet. Early harvesting risks losing that identity, and taken to the extreme, these fresher, more linear wines could come from almost anywhere. The 2022s show the estate's modern style at its most refined, with purity and balance as well as plenty of depth and structure. The 2023s are already showing finesse and class, with solid depth of fruit. From entry-level values to the top Sélections Parcellaires cuvées, there's certainly something here for every Rhône lover.

One of the highest points in Chapoutier's lineup this year, the 2022 Ermitage Le Méal evokes aromas of violet, lilac, spices, pepper and dark berries. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and layered, it's more charming than Monier de la Sizeranne with a fleshier core of fruit and more harmonious, velvety tannins, concluding with a floral, ethereal finish. Delicately crafted and refined on the palate, this wine was fermented with 15% whole bunches and aged in a significant proportion of large barrels, 25% of which were new.

The 2022 Ermitage Le Méal is gorgeous. While the barrel sample tasted last year accentuated its floral qualities, the finished version kicks off with boatloads of graphite, followed by ripe black plum, black cherry, cedar and a flicker of licorice. Complex and deep, the full-bodied 2022 is a polished Le Méal. I suspect it won’t require as much time to come around as the L'Ermite from the same vintage. Although rich and concentrated, the 2022 imparts sufficient freshness to keep it all in check and winds down with endurance on the complex finish.