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A blockbuster red wine, delivering heavyweight power with amazing finesse. Thick, ripe, rich and superextracted, it's inky-dark, full-bodied, tastes of the earth, cassis and blackberry, mocha and spice, ink, iron, mineral and blood, with a massive amount of full, ripe and sweet tannins. A monumental effort from the Northern Rhône. Best from 2005 through 2020. 500 cases made. —Wine Spectator | 98 WSThere are three luxury cuvees of Hermitage in 1996. A new cuvee, and potentially a perfect wine, is the 1996 Hermitage l'Hermite. Three thousand bottles are produced from a small parcel of old vines (believed to be over 100 years old) located close to the tiny white chapel on the steepest part of the Hermitage hill. Yields were 9 hectoliters per hectare. A totally different expression of Hermitage, this is a blockbuster, dense, chewy, highly extracted, monster Hermitage the likes of which consumers and professionals rarely encounter. The opaque purple/black color, gorgeously sweet nose of minerals and cassis fruit, unctuous texture, and thick, brooding power and richness is the stuff of legends. However, this wine is extremely high in tannin, and has tangy acidity (a hallmark of the 1996 vintage), so it will need a minimum of 10-15 years of cellaring. Are readers paying attention? Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040.Robert Parker | 96-100 RP(Maison Chapoutier Hermitage L'Ermite) Deep ruby-violet color. Liqueur-like aromas of kirsch, smoked meat, licorice, minerals and cocoa powder. Great sweetness on entry, then completely wrapped up in its structure. But this wine is fat and packed with black fruit and violet flavor. Powerful tannins are a bit dustier than those of Chapoutier's '96 Ermitage Le Pavillon. At once large-scaled and quite refined. Impressive.Vinous Media | 92-95 VM

The 1998 Ermitage Le Pavillon flirts with perfection ... again. Revealing a striking bouquet of violets, blackberries, smoke, licorice, and minerals, it is luxuriously rich, full-bodied, and layered on the palate. It is a wine with a finish that lasts beyond a minute. Remarkably, yields were a mere 10 hectoliters per hectare. There is plenty of tannin in the finish, but it is ripe and well-integrated. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2050.Robert Parker | 98 RPFresh ruby-red. Fruit-driven, very primary aromas of cassis, wild cherry, leather and pepper. Lush, rich and deep; showing more sweetness and texture today than the more backward Meal. This large-scaled wine has superb density and clarity of flavor. Finishes with big, ripe tannins and outstanding length. Perhaps more complete than the Meal.Vinous Media | 94 VM

A wine that flirts with perfection is the inky and opaque 2009 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes. Coming from L'Ermite, le Sabot, and Les Bessards, and aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels, it gives up a heavenly bouquet of crushed rocks, blackberries, leather, wild herbs and earth. Massively concentrated on the palate, with another level of fruit and texture over the 2010, it has brilliant purity, building tannin and a blockbuster finish. There's enough tannin here to warrant hiding in the cellar for 4-5 years, but it should last for 3-4 decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPMuch more structure, smoky, and concentrated, with a burly feel, the 2009 Delas Frères Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes delivers a serious array of blackberry, graphite, mineral, cedar, and charcoal that gives way to a full-bodied, dense, almost painfully structured palate. Fleshing out in the glass, this rock star Hermitage has a deep, layered mid-palate, integrated acidity, and masses of tannin on the finish. This needs time. Give bottles 5-6 years in the cellar, and then plan on drinking over the following two decades!Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDVery rich, with layers of creamed pear, green fig and Jonagold apple cascading over blanched almond and melon rind notes. The long finish lets hints of honey and blanched almond slowly take over, with impressive length. Not imported into the U.S. Drink now through 2022. 830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSInky purple. Deeply pitched aromas of cherry and cassis, with licorice and black pepper nuances adding complexity. Chewy and dense, offering bitter cherry and dark berry flavors lifted by a spicy note on the back half. Finishes with gentle tannic grip and persistent spice and smoke notes. Give this masculine, brawny wine at least a few more years of bottle age.Vinous Media | 91+ VM