2016 Chapoutier Ermitage l'Ermite Rouge

For some reason, I have more fruit descriptors in my notes for the 2016 Ermitage l'Ermite than the Le Pavillon, yet the former left me less impressed. Of course, that's all relative when talking about wines that are easily in the top 1% of all wines in the world. Scents of crushed stone are joined by blueberries, plums and cassis in this impressive, full-bodied wine. It's rich and concentrated, tannic as hell but endowed with enough fruit to see it through to 2025, when it should begin to approach drinkability. Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate #234, December 2017