2005 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Meal Blanc

More over the top and decadent than the Cuvee de l’Orée, the 2005 Ermitage le Meal Blanc has overflowing notes of celery seed, sautéed peaches, honeycomb and underlying minerality that literally come soaring from the glass. Full-bodied, thick, unctuous and hedonistic to the max, it lacks a touch of the precision found in the Cuvee de l’Orée, yet makes up for it in sheer hedonistic pleasure and exuberance. It has the concentration to continue drinking nicely for another two decades or more.

Yellow-gold. Ripe pit fruit and musky lees on the nose, with a smoky mineral quality adding further depth and complexity. Deeply concentrated, chewy apricot and fig flavors are sweetened by floral honey and energized by zesty minerality, but this is ultimately an extremely rich bruiser of a wine. Few late-harvest wines have this sort of richness, but this is emphatically dry. Really amazing, but what do you do with something like this? Maybe serve it with a half-pound slab of foie gras terrine.

Medium gold. Very ripe, dense aromas of honeyed apricot and peach, deepened by smoked meat, white chocolate and beeswax. Powerful, almost brooding, with deep, superripe, smoky flavors of fig, apricot and quince paste. Oily in texture, with serious weight and depth, this will need to be served with the richest, most decadent dishes.