Ermitage l'Ermite, Maison M. Chapoutier 2012

Another wine that topped out on my scale, the 523-case 2012 Ermitage l'Ermite is as profound an Hermitage as you can find. Coming from the granite soils located around the Chapel on the top of Hermitage hill, it's always the most tight, backward and structured of the releases, even more so than the Pavillon, which always seems to have another layer of sweet fruit to me. The 2012 is deeper and richer than the 2011, yet as with most 2012s, it more approachable and forward than the 2010 (and 2009 in this case). Exhibiting awesome notes of powdered rock, creme de cassis, liquid violets and lite gunpowder, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, awesome mid-palate depth and building, ultra-fine tannin that frame the finish. It's an incredible wine that will won't start to become approachable until a decade after the vintage, and then will keep for three decades.

Always the most angular, structured and backward, the 2012 Ermitage l'Ermite comes from the steep, granite soils located near the top of Hermitage hill. Exhibiting searing aromas and flavors of violets, creme de cassis, toast and crushed rock, this full-bodied, seamless and pure effort builds on the palate, with fantastic richness, incredible purity and masses of tannin. Give it 5-7 years in the cellar and drink it over the following two decades. Drink: 2018 - 2038.