Chapoutier's colossal 2018 Ermitage l'Ermite Blanc is a candidate for a perfect score, marrying crisp, stony, structural elements with an off-the-charts level of pineapple, citrus and melon fruit. Full-bodied yet fresh, round yet focused, it's a somehow harmonious expression of several seeming contradictions and should amaze drinkers for decades to come.

The 2018 Ermitage Blanc L'Ermite is flat-out stunning. Dried lemon peel, beeswax, cedar, honeysuckle, golden apple and chamomile shout at maximum volume. Boasting a complex and rich aromatic profile, the full-bodied 2018 is generous and layered on the palate, yet it navigates all that richness with meticulous precision, winding down to a super gentle, delicately nutty finish.

This has a gentle, almond nougat aroma and a touch of rhubarb with gentle honeycomb edging to the pear and mango fruit. It's still distinctly saline and buzzing with energy, but more immediately drinkable than a more classic recent vintage of L'Ermite Blanc. The yields were 32hl/ha, very high for this domaine, and it doesn't currently provide the impact of more concentrated, lower yielding years. From some pre-phylloxera vines from 1860. Michel explains that the soils on this lieu-dit are ‘granilite’ - granite with a touch of calcium - a rare kind of alkaline granite. 80% matured in demi-muid, 15% new oak; the rest in stainless steel barrels.

Another truly flawless wine from this dream team is the 2018 Ermitage L’Ermite Blanc, which comes from a vineyard located at the top of Hermitage Hill and was brought up in 20-25% new demi-muids. Offering a magical bouquet of liqueur of rock, quince, poached pears, orange blossom, and honeysuckle, it's a powerful, super-rich, expressive, full-bodied white that could come from nowhere else in the world. It's approachable today (it needs plenty of air) yet won't hit prime for another 7-8 years or so. This was another stunning tasting with the team at Chapoutier. They’ve produced some of the wines of the vintage in both 2017 and 2018. The team here compares 2017 to 2007, which is a comparison I understand, even if I think the quality of their 2017s are a step up. Both vintages were hot and dry, and the wines have expressive, sunny profiles. I reviewed their top 2017 dry whites last year, but the 2017 reds showed spectacularly well this year, most coming in at the upper end of their barrel range. Looking at the 2018s, this is another blockbuster year at this estate and the wines reveal even deeper purple (almost blue) hues compared their 2017 counterparts as well as a touch more freshness in their aromatics reminiscent of a cooler vintage. Nevertheless, these are big, rich, concentrated wines that have building tannins and structure as well as loads of fruit, and are built for the cellar. One of the beauties of the 2018s is that the wines have a wonderful sense of freshness and purity reminiscent of a cooler year, yet paired with the fruit, depth, and richness of a warmer year. Lastly, the lineup here seems to grow each year and at present, includes two sparkling wines, three Saint-Péray, two Condrieu, two Cornas, four Côte Rôtie, six Crozes Hermitage, nine Hermitage, and six Saint Joseph. Also, there are a handful of Vin de France and IGP releases. The top “Sélections Parcellaires” cuvées range from 300 to 1,000 cases, and while they can be frightfully expensive, they’re among the greatest wines in the world. However, don’t overlook the value releases from Chapoutier, where you get serious bang for the buck.