| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Rhône > Northern Rhône > Hermitage |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
The 2012 Hermitage Ex Voto (which I suspect won’t be produced again until 2015) was bottled in January of this year and it’s a big, voluptuous beauty that’s loaded with fruit and texture. Crème de cassis, black raspberries, crushed rocks and a touch of beef blood all soar from the glass of this beauty, which hits the palate with a wealth of sweet fruit, building, ripe tannin and blockbuster length. Liquid Viagra would suffice as a descriptor for this wine, and while it’s already impossible to resist today, it will age effortlessly for 25 or more years.
With richer, creamier and more spicy aromas, this has a very taut, composed and more reserved feel on the nose and palate than many. I love the fine and powdery tannin texture, the heaps of detail and the charming pepper and spice character. A compressed and elegant and more formal style of syrah. This is a very classy wine with great depth and elegance. The impression is of a precise, long and even wine, just starting out on a long ride. Best from 2018 and for more than a decade thereafter.
The 2012 Hermitage Ex Voto, whose fate is still a little unknown as it might be declassified into the straight Hermitage, shows the more forward, charming nature of the vintage with its sweet bouquet of cassis, black raspberries, licorice and vanilla bean. Big, rich, full-bodied and sexy with ripe tannin, it will be approachable in its youth and have two to three decades of longevity.
