Even better, the 2020 Hermitage Le Gréal showed brilliantly, and this powerful, concentrated Hermitage is going to be one for the cellar. Revealing a dense purple hue as well as great aromatics of blackberries, new saddle leather, truffle, roasted herbs, and peppered meat, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, mouth-filling texture, building tannins, and a great finish. It's going to take a decade to hit maturity, but this brilliant Hermitage will have 30 years of longevity. Bravo!

The 2020 Hermitage Le Greal looks like another terrific success. A blend of 90% Le Méal and 10% Les Greffieux that includes a small proportion of white grapes, it delivers waves of vibrant raspberry fruit, embedded with nuances of black olive and salted licorice. Full-bodied and intense, weighing in at around 15.5% alcohol, it's a bold, velvety-textured beauty that must be tasted to be believed.

Glass-staining violet. Assertively perfumed, spice-accented dark berry, kirsch, floral and smoky mineral scents show superb delineation and an earthy suggestion of olive paste. Sappy and penetrating on the palate, offering energetic boysenberry, blackberry, cherry-cola, fruitcake and violet pastille flavors that deepen and become spicier with aeration. Smoothly blends richness and energy and finishes extremely long and pliant, with youthfully gripping tannins and superb, floral- and mineral-driven persistence.

90% Le Méal, 10% Les Greffieux. Syrah with 5% Marsanne co-planted. Cask sample tasted at the domaine. Beautifully expressive with the fruit at perfect pitch. Blueberry and blackcurrant notes with the addition of clove and spice. Palate dense and profound with elegance and power combined. Tannins clearly present but fine grained. Gourmand fruit with a slight glow on the finish but freshness all the same. (JL)