M. Chapoutier : L'Ermite 2020

Sultry, ripe and savory, with impressive concentration and depth. Shows waves of lemon oil, chamomile and beeswax notes that wash over a wall of fleur de sel and minerality. Delivers serious simmering complexity, with highlights of citrus peel, chamomile and burned orange acidity emerging with time in glass. The massive, powerful finish packs pleasing chewiness, thanks to white mocha richness and tea tannins. Drink now through 2035. 209 cases made, 7 cases imported.

Plenty of richness on the palate and all the intense mineral facets you would expect from L'Ermite, both on the nose and the palate. Intensely fresh, driving, tense and salty. The oak is very present in this sample, but it's integrated nicely. I love the steely, uncompromising texture of this wine, its edginess just tempered by the glycerol softness. Very direct and long, if not as long as some recent vintages. Aromatically this has abundant meadow flowers at this early stage.

Another perfect wine in the lineup is the 2020 Ermitage L'Ermite Blanc, and white wine simply doesn’t get any better. I’ve never found another white that conveys a sense of minerality and liquid rock like this cuvée, and the 2020 offers a piercing bouquet of white currants, quince, honeyed flowers, charcoal, and scorched earth, with celery seed and wild fennel notes developing with air. A huge, rich, massive wine, it has awesome purity and precision and a great finish. It’s one of my favorite white wines in the world. This demands 3-5 years of bottle age and will have 20, 30, if not 40 years of longevity, although I find estimating the evolution of Hermitage Blanc one of the most challenging and difficult parts of the job.

The most restrained of the three white single-parcel wines, yet the palate is all finesse and delicacy, with a pure granite touch, fresh and saline, mouthwatering. A wine still evolving, with intense persistence and a length that unfolds with power.

L'Ermite once again reaches new heights in intensity, power, and distinction. Perfectly balanced, this wine unfolds a dynamic palate with endless length. Best left to rest in the cellar, it is set for a long life.

The 2020 Ermitage l'Ermite Blanc boasts subtle aromas of crushed stone and toasted grain, while the fruit is more citrus than pear or melon, with a hint of white peach. It's full-bodied but without the massive concentration of either the 2018 or 2019 vintages. Balanced, elegant, long and harmonious, it's again my pick of the whites, but it’s not quite as mind-blowing as the 2019.