2005 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Vin de Paille

(for 375 ml.) Medium gold. Explosively perfumed bouquet of ripe pear, floral honey and apricot pit, with a strong herbal aspect building with air. Lush and creamy, with deep tropical and pit fruit flavors enlivened by strong minerality. Becomes firmer on the finish, which leaves a strong licorice candy impression. Really remarkable and outrageously complex.

Of course, Michel Chapoutier produces some very limited spectacular dessert wines. The 2005 Ermitage Vin de Paille has a dark amber color, much more noticeable acidity than the 2004, but tastes as unctuous, yet with considerable precision. The truffle notes are not nearly as intense, but the wine does exhibit plenty of honeysuckle, caramel, and marmalade notes in a full-bodied, sweet style. This wine cuvee has between 100 and 159 grams of residual sugar, and the finished alcohol is approximately 15%. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

From the Chapoutiers’ special parcel dedicated to Vin de Paille production. Marsanne dried for two months on a bed of straw. The must has 360 g/l residual sugar with 105 left after fermentation to 15% alcohol. Fermentation and maturation in new oak barrels for up to three years. Extraordinary flavours of dried orange peel, clove, tightness on the finish – quite different from most sweet wines. Almosy a quinine-like note. Lots of interest here. I really have no clue about how long this wine is likely to last but it’s already fascinating. Very sweet but very well balanced. (JR)