2006 Hermitage Cuvee Autrement

More concentrated than the finesse-driven 2011, the 2006 Hermitage Autrement is a structured, rich, age-worthy effort that’s all from the granite soils at the top of Hermitage Hill, just above the Chapelle in the lieu-dit of les Grandes Vignes. Brought up in new oak, it has remarkable purity and focus, with almost brooding notes of smoky black cherries, black olives, mineral, truffles and earth. At ten years of age, it’s still closed and backwards, yet has fabulous potential. Give bottles another 4-5 years and drink over the following two decades.