L'Ermite 1998
Rhône Valley - Ermitage
Ratings
Tasting notes
Appearance:
very deep garnet red, almost black.
Nose:
black fruits with spices and ink overtones.
Palate:
tannins are in the same time powerful and velvety. Smoky and pepper overtones express wonderfully the Syrah variety on granitic soil. According to the vintage, the wine can be kept from 30 to 60 years, indeed from 50 to 75 years.
Sommelier's advice: Beef, game All cheeses
Grape variety/varieties:
100% Syrah.
Harvest:
Late hand-harvesting in order to obtain optimal alcohol content.
Soil:
Situated at the top of the Hermitage hill, around the chapel, in a place named the Ermite. The vines are 80 years old and are on granitic soils which are very poor.
Vinification:
The harvest which is 100% destemmed, is matured in concrete tanks. Fermentation lasts around 4 weeks, to obtain soft and stable tannins to keep the wine for a very long time. The temperature does not exceed 32°C to enable good quality extraction. To make this wine, only the free-run juice is used.
Ageing:
Free run juice is immediately transferred into new and one-year-old casks to be matured from 18 to 20 months.
Alcohol content:
13.5