Last year I wrote that the 2000 Ermitage l’Ermite was one of the most amazing white Hermitages I had ever tasted. In bottle, it has confirmed all of its extraordinary character. This light gold-colored effort is pure liquid minerals. Notes of honey, tropical fruits, smoke, and licorice are offered in a phenomenally full-bodied, mineral-imbued masterpiece with a long, concentrated, chewy mid-palate, great purity as well as a 50+ second finish. This awesome dry white should prove to be nearly immortal. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2050. These uncompromising offerings from a young genius are not meant for consumers who want something to drink immediately. They are the essence of bio-dynamically farmed vineyard sites cropped incredibly low, given extended fermentations with indigenous yeasts, and rarely touched until they go into the bottle unfined and unfiltered. In most vintages, the wines are not even racked off their lees, which only adds to their natural style. These are truly remarkable wines, but for most readers, patience is the operative rule as they generally need a good 8-10 years to strut their stuff. Once moribund, over the last 12 years, this firm has become one of the reference points for nearly all the Rhone Valley appellations since the brash yet immensely talented Michel Chapoutier took over in the late eighties. The single vineyard offerings are as good as Rhone Valley wines can be. Moreover, Chapoutier continues to upgrade the quality of those wines offered in more significant quantities than the 500 or so cases each of the single vineyard offerings. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

Last year I wrote that the 2000 Ermitage l’Ermite was one of the most amazing white Hermitages I had ever tasted. In bottle, it has confirmed all of its extraordinary character. This light gold-colored effort is pure liquid minerals. Notes of honey, tropical fruits, smoke, and licorice are offered in a phenomenally full-bodied, mineral-imbued masterpiece with a long, concentrated, chewy mid-palate, great purity as well as a 50+ second finish. This awesome dry white should prove to be nearly immortal. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2050. These uncompromising offerings from a young genius are not meant for consumers who want something to drink immediately. They are the essence of bio-dynamically farmed vineyard sites cropped incredibly low, given extended fermentations with indigenous yeasts, and rarely touched until they go into the bottle unfined and unfiltered. In most vintages, the wines are not even racked off their lees, which only adds to their natural style. These are truly remarkable wines, but for most readers, patience is the operative rule as they generally need a good 8-10 years to strut their stuff.Once moribund, over the last 12 years, this firm has become one of the reference points for nearly all the Rhone Valley appellations since the brash yet immensely talented Michel Chapoutier took over in the late eighties. The single vineyard offerings are as good as Rhone Valley wines can be. Moreover, Chapoutier continues to upgrade the quality of those wines offered in more significant quantities than the 500 or so cases each of the single vineyard offerings.Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900