Tasted in components: #1, from Peleat: High-pitched red fruit and floral aromas, with a strong mineral quality and mounting spiciness. Bracing and pure, with strongly focused raspberry and cherry flavors and excellent back-end power. #2, from Beaume: Spice-accented cherry and black raspberry on the nose and palate, with a smoky nuance coming up with air. Densely packed but lively, showing strong finishing punch and lingering spiciness. #3, from Meal: Ripe cherry and dark berries on the nose, along with notes of candied licorice, Moroccan spices and smoke. Rich and supple, with deep dark fruit character and solid framing tannins. Substantial but in no way hard, finishing with excellent tenacity. #4, from L'Hermite: Intense, high-toned cherry pit and blueberry aromas, with complicating notes of licorice, cracked pepper and candied violet. Sappy, penetrating black and blue fruit flavors show wonderful intensity and depth, with solid mineral spine lending vivacity. Finishes long, spicy and floral. #5, from Bessards: A kaleidoscopic bouquet evokes red and dark berry preserves, potpourri, black pepper and star anise. Bright and mineral-driven, offering concentrated black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors that refuse to let go of the palate. Chave told me that he views the Bessards juice as "the backbone of the final wine and the essence of Hermitage character." The ultimate blend should be outstanding and a must-buy for well-heeled Rhone collectors, or a splurge for the any of the 99 percenters who want to see what great syrah is all about.

The 2010 Hermitage from JL Chave is mineral and taut, unwinding in the glass with a typically brooding bouquet of pepper, spices, dark berries, thyme and bay leaf mingled with hints of smoke. Full-bodied, dense, rich and powerful, it's concentrated and layered with powdery, structured tannins, subtle dry extracts and a long, granite finish. Smoky and meaty, it needs time to chill out, even if structured tannins could reduce its aging potential severely.

NB vintage. This has yet to be assembled and bottled. Lot 1 – Very sophisticated indeed. Almost clarety in build – especially after the sheer mass of Bessards 2011. Firm finish and actually something rather burgundian about the flesh too. Lot 2 - Big, sweet and broad. Jean-Louis suggests that clones get too ripe and a massale selection is better. Lots of chew on the end. Lot 3 – Lots of matter and spine. On the palate it's all muscle rather than fruit. But it's also extremely subtle and ambitious. Jean-Louis suggests that 2010 is very septentrionale and like 1991 (a great vintage in the northern Rhône) whereas 2009 was a bit riper and more like 1990. (JR)

Pure perfection, the 2010 Hermitage reminds Jean-Louis Chave of their 1990. It appears to be a richer, fresher example of what I remember the 1990 tasting like in 1992. The wine exhibits an opaque purple color along with an extraordinary bouquet of sweet blackberry fruit intermixed with creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, acacia flowers, bouquet garni, meat and crushed rocks. Full-bodied and stunningly rich with laser-like precision, this is a powerful, massive yet exceptionally well-balanced wine that should be forgotten for a decade and drunk over the following 30-40 years. Drink 2012-2052.
100 points – Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #204, Dec 2012)