M. Chapoutier : Le Méal 2012

Slightly more reserved now than on release, the 2012 Ermitage le Meal Blanc offers tons of honeyed minerality, caramelized peach, toasted bread and liquid rock-like aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, rich, vibrant and with terrific acidity, it's a sensational white that will have 3-4 decades of life.

This rolls along, featuring a honeyed edge and straw, heather and creamed apple notes, all gilded with pineapple, papaya and Cavaillon melon accents. Long and luxurious, with an echo of dried chamomile lending just the right amount of spine for balance. Drink now through 2020. 62 cases imported.

An unashamedly rich and opulent wine, surging with plush ripe stone fruit, buttery and thick. Its demeanour is golden and sunny, with bright flecks of fresh mango and yellow plum. Hugely structured, not through acidity but thorough palate presence, showing glycerol and intense spice. A vigorous wine with a long life ahead.

Light gold. Poached pear, peach pit, honey and blond tobacco on the intensely perfumed, mineral-driven nose. Pliant, deeply concentrated pit fruit and melon flavors are complemented by succulent herbs and orange pith, with a stony element adding back-end cut. The mineral note reminds me a lot of Chablis, as strange as that may sound for an all-Marsanne wine. Suavely melds weight and vivacity, finishing with excellent clarity and length and a clinging note of candied orange.