2007 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon

Opaque ruby. Aromas of boysenberry, blueberry, pipe tobacco, smoky spices and olive. Very rich but surprisingly energetic, offering sweet dark berry compote flavors and exotic floral and tobacco notes. The spiciness returns on the finish, which is sappy, impressively focused and extremely long. This has opened up significantly since bottling and looks very promising.

Made in a lighter style, but still a full-bodied, powerful wine, the dark purple-hued 2007 Ermitage Le Pavillon reveals aromas of creme de cassis, black truffles, cold steel, and crushed rocks. Dense and tannic, with good acidity, resounding richness, and a substantial finish, it is a top-notch effort that should evolve for three decades. (Not yet released) While Michel Chapoutier produces some of the world’s greatest wines from single parcels of old vines spread throughout the northern and southern Rhone (see my ecstatic reviews of his 2007 and 2006 Chateauneuf du Papes in issue #179), he also has an impressive portfolio of value-priced wines that are often over-looked when this impressive producer is discussed. Following are some top-notch picks that all sell for exceptionally fair prices. Chapoutier has not achieved as great as success in Cornas as he has in the other northern Rhone appellations, although his Cornas wines get better with each vintage. There are four extraordinary single vineyard white wines, all of which are among the greatest dry white wines of the world. While all of them can be drunk young, they are meant for extended cellaring. Made from very small yields, they represent the essence of a varietal as well as a vineyard site. As the following notes demonstrate, 2006 was one of the greatest vintages for white wines at Chapoutier. The single vineyard selection parcellaire red wines range in production from 500 to nearly 1,000 cases. 2007 is a very good vintage for these selections, but 2006 has an edge. It is reminiscent of 1996 because of the wines’ freshness and acid levels, but Chapoutier’s 2006s are even more concentrated than his 1996s. Chapoutier’s four 2006 cuvees of single vineyard Hermitage are exquisite. Most of the yields were between 10 and 20 hectoliters per hectare, and the wines are extravagantly rich. The 2006 and 2007 luxury cuvees of Chateauneuf du Pape Croix des Bois and Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac were reviewed in issue #179. They are all astounding wines, especially in 2007 Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

Inky ruby. Complex bouquet combines dark fruits, tobacco, smoked meat and black olive. Smooth and sweet, with deep blackcurrant and violet pastille flavors and good mineral snap. The rather soft tannins gain strength on the finish, which strongly repeats the tobacco note. Slightly primal today but there's superb potential here.