The good news continues as the 2003 Hermitage Ex-Voto may even be the richest of all these wines. Only 4,000 bottles were produced from Guigal’s favorite parcels of Hermitage, Les Bessards, l’Hermite, Les Greffieux, and Les Murets. It is the most alcoholic of all the wines at 15%, but its off-the-chart richness, full-bodied, powerful, and amazing creme de cassis flavors along with truffle, crushed rocks, and acacia flowers, are utterly profound. This is one of the great Hermitages and it should last for 50-100 years. Just amazing. Importer: Fred Ek and Patrick Will, Ex Cellars Wine Agencies, Solvang, CA; tel. (805) 686-9153

Exotic, with a gorgeous, mocha-infused fig aroma and rich, flashy flavors of spice, blackberry confiture and licorice. Additional notes of spice cake, incense and loam fill out the finish. This is loaded with structure, but the tannins are silky. A beauty. Drink now through 2027. 350 cases made. -JM

This bottling from Guigal’s own Hermitage holdings is incredibly rich and ripe (15.5% alcohol). In fact, it comes dangerously close to being overblown before the syrupy cherry fruit is reined back in by underlying spice and minerality. Expect that minerally edge to assert itself more with time in the cellar, making this a wine worth revisiting in 10 years’ time.——J.C.(9/1/2007)—— 94