Even better is the spectacular equal-part blend of Roussanne and Marsanne, the 2006 Hermitage Les Miaux. This wine is aged in small oak as well as 550- to 600-liter demi-muids. Light gold in color, no doubt because of the Roussanne component, the wine has notes of quince, jam, orange marmalade, rose petals, and a full-bodied mouthfeel, with little evidence of any wood, and a stunningly long finish. Much like most of these large-scale white Hermitages, it should be drunk in its first 3-4 years or forgotten for at least a decade, until it comes out of its weird stage. As I said last year, Michel Chapoutier is expending considerable amounts of money and energy to upgrade the wines of Ferraton. He still controls the biodynamic farming of many of their vineyards, and is totally responsible for the negociant blends that are put together. His emphasis is on terroir, purity of fruit, and earlier bottling to preserve the wine’s character. I thought the 2006s were perhaps his strongest overall vintage since he has been running this enterprise. In approaching the Ferraton wines, one has to realize the lower end is the negociant range, which include their generic Cotes du Rhones, the Crozes-Hermitage La Matiniere, the St.-Joseph, and the Hermitage Les Miaux, and then of course, the single-vineyard wines such as the St.-Joseph Les Oliviers, Ermitage Les Dionnieres, Ermitage Le Meal, and Crozes-Hermitage Le Grand Courtil. Importer: A French Paradox, Peoria, IL; tel. (309) 682-8994