2013 Hermitage
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Tasting notes
Saturated ruby. Complex scents of black raspberry, boysenberry and incense take on growing notes of allspice and olive as the wine opens up. Juicy, penetrating and alluringly sweet, the nervy dark berry and floral pastille flavors showing excellent depth as well as vivacity. This suave, well-balanced Hermitage finishes with harmonious tannins, resonating florality and excellent focus and length.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Sporting an inky purple color, the 2013 Hermitage from Yann Chave was comes from two terroirs: Beaumes and Peleat. Completely destemmed and raised all in demi-muids, it has fabulous purity in its classic black currants, smoked herbs, pepper and crushed rock-like minerality. With air, a touch of gunpowder and violet characteristics emerge from the glass, and it has classic Hermitage minerality (there’s almost a Bessards-like minerality here); the wine has medium to full-bodied richness, beautiful mid-palate depth, and the focus and edge that’s common in the vintage. There’s enough tannin to warrant short term cellaring and it will have 20 or more years of overall longevity.
(80% of this fruit came from Baume and the rest from Péleat): Opaque ruby. Sexy, highly perfumed aromas of candied dark fruits, violet, Indian spices and smoky minerals. Juicy and seamless in texture, offering intense, mineral-laced blackberry and bitter cherry flavors that become sweeter and spicier with air. Sappy and precise on the tightly focused finish, which lingers with refreshing spiciness and a hint of fine-grained tannins.
Cask sample. In demi-muids for 12 months. Deep blackish purple. Very broad nose with such a weight of fruit that it is initially quite difficult to see the tannins but it is all there and rather exciting. Very long-term wine but one in which the quality can be discerned already. Excellent balance and tension. (JR)