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Surprisingly, I preferred the 2011 Ermitage le Meal Blanc over the 2012 on this occasion and it showed a more flamboyant, sexy style in its caramelized pineapple, tropical, honeyed and floral personality. Big, rich and decadent, with fabulous fruit intensity and length, this rock star flirts with perfection and will keep for another 3-4 decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPVivid gold. Heady orchard and pit fruit aromas are complicated by anise, buttered toast and iodine, with a sexy floral nuance emerging with aeration. Fleshy and deeply pitched, offering wonderfully concentrated pear, nectarine and melon flavors and a zesty jolt of orange pith on the back half. Closes with superb energy and a very persistent honeydew note. I’d love to try this superb wine alongside some heavy-hitters from the Cote d’Or.Vinous Media | 94 VMA matchstick hint gives way to creamed apple, melon, heather and salted butter notes. Offers weight, depth and definition, opening up pleasantly in the glass. The long finish has a creamy feel. Drink now through 2022. 27 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Rich and opulent on the nose, with yellow peach and honeycomb. Very full bodied, with that immediate internal sweet ripeness of fruit that often marks out this cuvée. Good balancing acidity here, with real intensity of concentrated sappy fruits. Huge length, impressive power and a great mineral expression. It coats the mouth, and somehow stays fresh despite its richness. Old vine Marsanne (over 70 years old) grown on the pebbly, sand and clay soils of the lieu-dit Les Murets. 80% is matured in demi-muid for 11 months, 15% new oak, and the rest in stainless steel. 2017 is an exceptional year for de l’Orée.Decanter | 99 DECBrought up in just 18% new French oak, with 15% in stainless steel, the 2017 Ermitage de L’Orée is a big, rich, exotic effort that has loads of caramelized citrus, white flowers, green almonds, and licorice aromas and flavors. A wine that changes with time in the glass, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a rounded, layered texture, and a great finish. As with the Le Méal, it’s made in a slightly more fresh, focused style that’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThere are a substantial 909 cases of the 2017 Ermitage de l’Orée. Sourced from Les Murets’ clay soils, it combines hints of struck flint with honey, pear and baking spices on the nose. Full-bodied, with a layered sense of richness and ample concentration, it’s a big but balanced wine. While it lacks the zest and freshness of the 2016, it should still drink well for close to two decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPPale gold. Intense, sharply delineated aromas of fresh nectarine, pear nectar, orange, honey and pungent flowers, along with a smoky mineral overtone. Deeply pitched citrus and orchard fruit, peach liqueur and honeysuckle flavors stain the palate and become deeper with air, picking up a hint of toasted almonds and showing powerful back-end cut. The mineral and honey notes repeat emphatically on a strikingly long, focused finish that leaves juicy pear and floral notes behind.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe freshness and vibrantly focused style here is super impressive. A stony and flinty nose leads to notes of freshly baked bread crust, white peaches, lemons and grapefruit with nicely delivered oak spice and nuttiness. The palate has a very composed core with fine, powerful and focused flavors of peaches, pears and grapefruit and a minerally, focused, lightly spiced finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS

Quite possibly the finest white in the appellation, the 2020 Saint Joseph Les Granits Blanc is all Marsanne from what I would consider the best terroir in the appellation, the south-facing slopes of the Saint Joseph lieu-dit just south of Tournon. White currants, honeyed peach, celery seed, spice, and a wonderful sense of minerality define the bouquet, and it’s full-bodied, pure, seamless, and just a heavenly white you could easily put in a lineup of Hermitage Blanc. Drink bottles any time over the coming 10-15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA relatively brisk and fresh style of Les Granits this year, with an upright mineral spine. The acidity is spot-on, giving the wine edge and length. Oak is well-judged and doesn’t occlude the fruit. A little less fat and ripeness than some recent years, but it has a good sense of intensity if not generosity - you really feel the granite in the granular, slightly serrated mouthfeel. A return to a more classic, measured style. (Drink between 2022-2028)Decanter | 94 DECThe 2020 Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc is again one of the top white wines from the appellation. Sourced from the lieu-dit Saint-Joseph, it’s barrel fermented and aged, yet the oak is understated. The wine offers up hints of toasted grain, pear, melon and citrus on the nose, then delivers a palate that’s medium to full-bodied, plump and round, balanced, focused and long. Treat it like a baby Hermitage and drink it young, or put it aside for a decade or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP