2018 Hermitage La Petite Chapelle

The two top wines are the La Maison Bleue, from vines in the eastern side of the appellation, and the La Chapelle, which comes from vines on the western side of the appellation. The soils between these two regions are drastically different, with the Maison Bleue coming from more loess and limestone and the La Chapelle from more granite soils. There are around 2,000 cases produced of each in a vintage. The 2018 Hermitage La Maison Bleue sports a dense purple color to go with gorgeous blackberry and cassis fruits interwoven with notes of spice, dried meats, chocolate, and loamy earth. Rich, full-bodied, and expansive on the palate, it doesn't have the minerality or chiseled style of the La Chapelle, but it brings incredible fruit, texture, and opulence. It's a gorgeous wine I’d be thrilled to drink and is better than many vintages of the La Chapelle in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

A red with impressive depth and richness, yet it’s always in focus and balanced with very polished, fine tannins that tie up the berry, smoke and chocolate flavors, not to mention tar. It’s full-bodied, yet creamy and round-textured. Drink in 2022 and onwards.

Inky violet color. Deeply pitched cherry, blueberry, licorice and candied violet aromas are complemented by hints of baking spices, incense and smoky minerals. Succulent and penetrating on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black/blue fruit, spice and floral pastille flavors that become more energetic as the wine slowly stretches out. Weighty and broad yet lively as well, finishing with sharp delineation, mounting tannins and outstanding, floral- and mineral-driven persistence.