A deep garnet hue. The nose is very refined with blackberry, wild mint and cassis, developing scents of undergrowth and garrigue in the glass. The palate is beautifully balanced, very pure and elegant. Boatloads of glycerin; super-smooth and sumptuous, something reminding me of a Margaux, the vanilla pod and violets. A lot of unresolved new oak on the finish but give it time and this ravishing wine will seduce you. Tasted October 2006.

There are 481 cases of the black/purple 2005 Ermitage Le Meal. As always, classic blackberry, asphalt, charcoal, and beef blood notes jump from the glass of this intense wine. Full-bodied, with staggering concentration and a personality not terribly dissimilar from a first-growth Pauillac, but showing no evidence of oak whatsoever (and that is in spite of being aged in 100% new oak casks), this wine needs 10-12 years of bottle age, and should keep for 50-100 years.

Much more open knit, textured and sexy than a bottle tasted earlier in the year, the 2005 Ermitage le Meal is one fruit-loaded, rich and full-bodied beauty that offers classic notes of black raspberries, charcoal, peppery herbs and licorice. Possessing a voluptuous, layered mid-palate, ripe tannin and beautiful purity, this is a sensational Hermitage that can be enjoyed today with considerable pleasure, yet will keep for another two to three decades.

The stunningly rich 2005 Ermitage Le Meal boasts truffle-like notes intermixed with roasted meat, blueberry, and blackberry notes, and hints of charcoal and beef blood. Rich, full-bodied, fleshy, but with high levels of tannin and crisp acidity, this is going to be a backward, slow to evolve wine that is going to need 8-10 years of cellaring, and last 50 or more years. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900