Collector Wines

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Inky ruby. Smoke- and mineral-tinged aromas of ripe red and dark berries, pipe tobacco, olive paste, incense and vanilla, with a suave floral note building in the glass. Youthfully chewy and expansive on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, bitter cherry, licorice, cola, candied violet and allspice flavors that tighten up and become sweeter on the back half. Finishes sappy and extremely long, with resonating florality and mounting tannins that add shape and a firm closing grip.Vinous Media | 98 VMOffers up gorgeous fruit, with creamed açaí and blueberry mixed with warmed cassis and a flash of dark plum, which holds center stage while licorice snap, violet, apple wood and sweet bay leaf accents fill in the background. Shows terrific grip through the finish, setting this up for a long life. Best from 2025 through 2040. 10 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSA rich, more broad, opulent wine, the 2019 Ermitage Les Greffieux has lots of darker berry and cassis-like fruit as well as textbook Northern Rhône Syrah notes of pepper, bouquet garni, leather, and woodsmoke. I love its depth and richness on the palate, and it’s full-bodied and has beautiful balance, supple tannins, and a great finish. It already offers pleasure and will continue doing so for another 20-25 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe creamy, almost lush 2019 Ermitage les Greffieux boasts knockout aromas of violets, crème de cassis and red raspberries. Full-bodied, yet fine and silky in feel, it’s a terrific example of this terroir, showing its hallmark accessibility and tremendous balance and elegance on the long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPA distinct smoky vein running through this year. Powerful, very ripe, muscular but juicy with great freshness and power. The alcohol is slightly raised, but it’s such a big, impressive wine with very ripe, massy tannins. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2036Decanter | 96 DECIncredibly dense nose of elderberries with some raw meat and smoke. At least as massively structured as it is concentrated, this is almost too much to take at this early stage in its development, but the tannins are already beautifully integrated and all it needs is a couple of years in bottle to calm down a little. Very firm, stony finish that has so much energy. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Best after 2024.James Suckling | 96 JS

Last year, I giddily speculated whether the 2019 Hermitage La Chapelle would warrant a 100-point score. While close—and I wouldn't completely discount it reaching that pinnacle in another decade or two—I'm not sure this wine is as good as I thought. It boasts exciting aromas of roasted meat, mocha, crushed stone, plum and cassis on the nose. It's full-bodied, concentrated, richly tannic and velvety in texture. It's long and complex on the finish, adding hints of cracked pepper and salted licorice. And yet, as much as I enjoyed tasting it and as undeniably great it is, angels didn't sing from the heavens. Maybe next bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2019 Hermitage La Chapelle isn’t going to match recent vintages, yet it’s unquestionably a beautiful wine. It’s also the first vintage where the estate has utilized concrete tanks for part of the aging as well, and it was brought up mostly in used barrels, with 15-20% new, and 10% in concrete. Its deep purple hue is followed by a concentrated, powerful, full-bodied effort that has impressive mid-palate depth as well as classic Hermitage notes of graphite, blackberries, cured meats, chocolate, and beautiful minerality. It stays tight and compact on the palate, with beautiful ripeness and enough tannins to warrant 5-6 years of bottle age.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDA big, rich wine with intense fruit, showing blackberry, black olive and black truffle character. Full-bodied and layered with chewy tannins that are soft and juicy. It’s a little warm on the finish. Yet, the decadence is so attractive and the phenolics keep it in line. This is very solid. Try after 2024.James Suckling | 95 JSDistinctly closed at the time of tasting, with some underlying smoky hints. Not terribly full-bodied, but certainly intense and focused on the palate. Some hard tannins on the finish that will take a long time to adequately soften, and there's a hint of bitterness - I'm keen to taste this again in bottle to see the finished blend. Has good balance and vibrancy overall, though the alcohol is a little raised. Drinking Window 2028 - 2039.Decanter | 94 DEC