The most flamboyant of these 100% old-vine Marsanne cuvees of Ermitage is the 2005 Ermitage Le Meal blanc. In-your-face honey along with marmalade, citrus oil, white flowers, and sweet peach are flamboyant, even ostentatious. Decadent, luxuriously rich, with huge body, amazing viscosity and richness, this enormous dry white has an underpinning of acidity and tannin, and alcohol just short of 16% (remarkably well-hidden beneath a cascade of glycerin, fruit, and extract). Just amazing! Drink it in its first 5 years of life, or hold it for 30+ years. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

More over the top and decadent than the Cuvee de l’Orée, the 2005 Ermitage le Meal Blanc has overflowing notes of celery seed, sautéed peaches, honeycomb and underlying minerality that literally come soaring from the glass. Full-bodied, thick, unctuous and hedonistic to the max, it lacks a touch of the precision found in the Cuvee de l’Orée, yet makes up for it in sheer hedonistic pleasure and exuberance. It has the concentration to continue drinking nicely for another two decades or more.

The warmest terroir for the white Ermitage cuvees is Le Meal, an upper mid-slope terroir with a great exposition.The most flamboyant of these wines, the 2005 Ermitage Le Meal blanc, exhibits notes of buttered citrus, copious tropical fruit, crushed rocks, white currants, and an amazing amount of honeysuckle allied with good acidity and enormous body.

A similar colour to the l'Oree. The nose is quite intense, more expressive with scents of granite, minerals, a touch of cut grass and vegetal (Michel himself describes it as celery.) A very cohesive palate, harmonious and beautifully balanced. There is a nice prickle on the palate with a slightly more unctuous texture than the other Ermitages. Very long length. This has great potential. Tasted October 2006. Drinking 2008-2020