Paul Jaboulet-Aîné : La Maison Bleue 2019

A superb Maison Bleue, the 2019 Hermitage La Maison Bleue seamlessly blends cherries and cassis into a purple mashup of fruit carried on rich, velvety waves of texture. Full-bodied and intense, it finishes complex and savory, adding notes of olive, clove and cedar on the long, luxurious finish. Already approachable, it should drink well through 2040.

Plenty of cloves and dried flowers with dark fruit, such as raspberries and blackberries. Some black truffle, too. Full-bodied with baked chocolate-pie and dark-fruit flavors. Full and warm at the end. Big, juicy wine. Give it a few years to come together. Drink from 2023.

Inky violet color. Heady, smoke- and spice-tinged cherry, blueberry, peony and incense aromas show excellent clarity; mineral and cured meat notes build with aeration. Juicy and energetic, especially in the context of the year, offering sweet red and blue fruit preserves, exotic spice flavors and a suave floral top note. Shows real energy on the seamless, strikingly long and floral-accented finish, which is firmed by well-integrated tannins.

The 2019 Hermitage La Maison Bleue showed well, with impressive notes of ripe black fruits, iron, leather, and hints of camphor in a medium- to full-bodied, fine, elegant profile. It’s well made and will benefit from 2–3 years of bottle age and evolve for 15+.