M. Chapoutier : Le Pavillon 2018

This is packed with dark currant, fig and blackberry paste flavors, carried by a sleek, racy structure that is nicely embedded from start to finish. Light red tea, dried anise and warm earth accents peek in throughout. Ends with a long, well-buried mineral note. Best from 2023 through 2038. 48 cases imported.

This is silky with real tannic finesse and, while it doesn't have the intensity of some vintages, it has beautiful balance and purity with sweet plum, violets, and blueberry. It’s not as long as some but still displays that Bessards straightness of character. Will drink soon.

100% Syrah. Aged for 20 months in oak (30% new). Cask sample. Raspberry and blackberry, lots of tarry, elemental flavours on the palate. Very savoury, very dark, and with a very dense structure that gives the palate a firmly furry finish. The classic muscle-flexing style of Hermitage! (RH)

Saturated ruby color. A hugely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, licorice, exotic spices and incense, with cured tobacco and potpourri notes in the background. Shows impressive depth as well as vivacity in its lush blueberry, cherry-vanilla, mocha and fruitcake flavors, which display outstanding definition and back-end lift. Tightens up through the back half and finishes on a youthfully tannic note, with reverberating spice and floral notes and strong persistence. Made from de-stemmed fruit and aged in 20% new oak barrels.

The fruit shows slight compote notes and the nose opens with clear ripeness: black olives, spices, and some touches of aromatic oak. The palate is full and fleshy. Overall, it’s concentrated and a bit warm, lacking length, and does not have the finesse of the Hermitage.