2010 Domaine des Remizieres Hermitage Cuvée Emilie

Inky purple. Dark berry liqueur, cola and floral pastille aromas, with strong accents of incense and smoky minerals. Fat, sweet and palate-staining, offering intense blackberry preserve and cherry-cola flavors lifted by juicy acidity and sharpened by a peppery, spicy nuance. Quite powerful yet comes off graceful and precise. Finishes extremely long and alluringly sweet, with supple tannins and persistent smokiness. This got 85% new oak and the material is more than up to it.

A profound blockbuster is the 2010 Hermitage Cuvee Emilie. An opaque purple color, unctuous texture, and sweet perfume of creme de cassis, blackberry liqueur, acacia flowers and graphite are all found in this enormously endowed, full-bodied, viscous, thick wine. It is nearly over-the-top in richness, but everything comes together with no bitterness, astringency or heaviness. The oak is well-concealed because of the wine’s extravagant fruit and glycerin. This is a 25-year Hermitage. Make no mistake about the wines from Domaine des Remizieres – they are very bold, exuberant, even flamboyant reds with tremendous richness. One might also call them “modern-styled” given the elevated use of toasty new oak for the top cuvees. Importer: A Patrick Lesec Selection, agent for the U.S. market, Chemin des Vins. Sherborn, MA; tel. (508) 545-1532