Rhone Collector Wines

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Leading off three single-vintage whites from Hermitage, the stunning 2013 Ermitage Cuvee de L’Orée has an off-the-hook bouquet that includes just about everything you could think of when considering Hermitage Blanc. White peach, white flowers, almond paste, quince and wet rock are just some of the nuances, and it packs a serious punch on the palate, with full-bodied richness, a flamboyant, expansive texture and riveting focus and purity. Give it a year or so and drink it over the following 2-3 decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThis has a weighty, honeyed feel, with lots of heather, salted butter, warm piecrust and toasted macadamia nut notes leading the way, followed by creamed melon and yellow apple fruit. Lovely twinges of white ginger and mirabelle plum lend cut and contrast at the end. Drink now through 2030. 43 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSLight yellow-gold. An impressively complex bouquet evokes ripe citrus and orchard fruits, iodine and white flowers, and a hint of smoky minerals emerges with air. Sappy, penetrating and focused on the palate, offering intense Meyer lemon, quince, ginger and sweet butter flavors that deepen and spread out on the back half. Powerful and deeply concentrated yet graceful, finishing with superb energy and lingering floral and mineral notes. The vines from which this wine is sourced are in the Les Murets lieu-dit.Vinous Media | 95 VM

I was blown away by the 2020 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc, which is certainly the finest vintage of this cuvée I’ve tasted. From the pure south-facing Méal lieu-dit (which is the warmest terroir on Hermitage), it was vinified and aged 70% demi-muids (10% new) and 30% in stainless steel. Straight-up heavenly notes of white currants, powdered rock, celery seed, honeysuckle, and toasted almonds all define the bouquet, and it’s full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with that rare mix of richness and freshness. Hermitage Blanc doesn’t get any better. I love this today, yet it will certainly benefit from a year or two of bottle age, drink well for 3-5 years, at which point, it’s probably best to wait until a solid 15 years after the vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThis relatively warm, early-ripening terroir has yielded a wine that’s full-bodied yet with an almost custard-like silky texture. Toasted grain, lemon custard, crushed stone, pear and melon notes mingle easily on the nose of Chapoutier’s 2020 Ermitage le Méal Blanc. The long, zesty finish is marked by a slight hint of bitterness that seems to come into this parcellaire from time to time.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPAlmond, quince and a touch of rhubarb at this early stage; you sense the ripeness, but it’s not exotically fruity in 2020. The silkiness and glycerol on the palate are quite present, this sample shows plentiful oak, lending matchstick and cashew to the finish. An elegant vintage of Le Méal. Well-balanced, far from massive, not as powerful or concentrated as the past few vintages, this will drink well young and age into the medium term. Not a hugely-long lived Méal I suspect, but a delightful one nonetheless. There is generous alcohol, but it’s not unbalanced. (Drink between 2023-2040)Decanter | 96 DEC