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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $582.72
Another perfect wine from this reference point estate, the 2012 L'Ermite Blanc tastes like the essence of this...
WA
100
JD
100
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $654.95
Completing a trifecta of perfect whites, the 2013 Ermitage l’Ermite Blanc is another sensational effort that offers...
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100
WS
98
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $801.95
The wine of the vintage (and I’ll include all the wines of the northern Rhône, red and white in that grouping) is...
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100
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97
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $458.28
I’ve probably rated the L'Ermite Blanc a perfect score more times than any other wine out there, and the 2015...
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White
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $1257.32
The best of the lineup in 2016 is unquestionably the 2016 Ermitage L’Ermite Blanc, which is all Marsanne from the...
JD
100
WA
98
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $558.95
The best of the lineup in 2016 is unquestionably the 2016 Ermitage L’Ermite Blanc, which is all Marsanne from the...
JD
100
WA
98
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $637.41
As in 2016, my favorite of the white parcel selections this year is the 2017 Ermitage l'Ermite Blanc (231 cases...
WA
100
DC
98
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $472.21
Another truly flawless wine from this dream team is the 2018 Ermitage L’Ermite Blanc, which comes from a vineyard...
WA
100
JD
100
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $413.03
Another perfect wine in the lineup is the 2020 Ermitage L'Ermite Blanc, and white wine simply doesn’t get any...
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100
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98
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $420.36
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $393.50
Even inkier in color than the 2010, the 2009 Ermitage le Meal is as good as Hermitage gets. Locked and loaded with...
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100
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97
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $361.62
One of the stars of the retrospective was the 2010 Ermitage le Meal. This classic vintage yielded concentrated, fresh...
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99
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98
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $189.64
Similar to the '12 and showing the generosity and warmth of this site, the 2011 Ermitage le Meal is another sexy wine...
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98
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95
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $174.28
Showing similar to last year, the 2012 Ermitage le Meal is a blockbuster that's about as voluptuous and sexy as...
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98
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96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $212.33
A classic expression of the gorgeous, sunbaked vineyard, the 2013 Ermitage le Méal is as ripe, sexy and voluptuous...
WA
97
WS
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $196.45
The sweetly fruited, downright sexy 2014 Ermitage le Meal offers plenty of raspberry jam, toasted bread and floral...
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95
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95
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $365.11
A perfect wine, the 2015 Ermitage Le Méal offers straight-up otherworldly notes of black raspberries, toasted...
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100
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99
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $249.28
From a very steep southern exposure, aged in 25% new oak for 18 months. This wine is relatively dark, brooding and...
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99
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97
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $332.60
Always the earliest-ripening portion of the Chapoutier holdings on the Hermitage hill, the 2017 Ermitage le Méal is...
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100
VM
96
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $214.78
From one of the warmer terroirs on Hermitage Hill, the 2018 Ermitage Le Méal was all destemmed and vinified in...
JD
99
WA
98

The Rhone region of France is one which is deeply influenced by tradition. With a wine history which stretches back to well over a thousand years, and a consistent degree of excellence demonstrated by their wineries, producing wines which have shaped the drink as we know it, it isn’t difficult to see why tradition is held in such high regard. What is unusual then, is when you find a Rhone winery which, while producing excellent, classic Rhone wines, is also willing to seek out new opportunities and break from the norm somewhat.

One such winery is Maison Chapoutier. The Chapoutier family are a proper, old Rhone clan, who operate on land which has been passed down from father to son since the end of the 18th century. The winery was set up on the ancestral site in 1879, when a set of heritage vineyards were bought and new vines were sown, thus starting the business which continues to this day. The wineries fortunes were mixed, and for much of its history it didn’t make any great waves with their traditional, standard Hermitage wines which were probably very similar to those made elsewhere in the village. However, in the 1980s, the latest generation of Chapoutiers, Michel and Marc, took over the business from their father with a renewed sense of passion and keenness to make their voices heard and their wine tasted across the world.

The results were highly positive, and the Rhone wines of Maison Chapoutier quickly gained recognition for their excellence and complexity. The success of their home produce prompted the Chapoutier brothers to expand their family business, and they soon set their sights on becoming an international company, spreading their unique style - blending Rhone tradition with global sophistication - elsewhere around the world. They bought vineyards in Portugal, and then Australia, and decided to break with tradition completely and turn their farming techniques over to the biodynamic method, which emphasizes using natural cycles of the moon, enriching the soils with various natural components, and trying to be completely harmonious with nature. As such, all of their vineyards around the world are completely organic and biodynamic, and all of their wines are single-varietal - another unusual feature at odds with their traditional roots, where blending is very much the norm. The results more than speak for themselves, however, and Marc and Michel Chapoutier continue to receive awards and recognition for their wines, as they seek to expand further and continue spreading their message.