Maison Nicolas Perrin Ermitage Macro Maison Nicolas Perrin Ermitage

Maison Nicolas Perrin Ermitage - 2011

Description

The history of Ermitage is very old and according to a number of books it goes back to the Romans. The local legend relates the story of an 13th century knight who, returning from a crusade, built a chapel at the top of a hill and lived there like a hermit, hence the name Ermitage. Returning from a trip to Ermitage in 1787, Thomas Jefferson, the American Ambassador in France, declared his admiration for this white wine “the best wine in the world, with no equal”. His comments on the red wines were just as praising “Full-bodied, dark purple with exquisite flavours…”.

Terroir

The terroir is complex and varied with granite in parts but also rolled pebbles and calcareous soils. The wines produced in the locality of “Grandes Vignes” where the soils are dominated by granite, have a great minerality but also a nice tannin structure. This area represents 30% of our blend. The wines that we produce on the rolled pebbles (locality of “Greffieux”) are aromatically rich and complex. They correspond to the backbone of our wine and represent 60% of the blend.
Finally the calcareous soil in the locality of “Muret” brings elegance and finesse to the wine.
These 3 terroirs are very complementary and they each bring a different element to the final blend.

The vintage

After 2010 (a very balanced vintage) and 2009 (a powerful vintage), 2011 offered plenty fruit, freshness and body. Besides a hot spring and early flowering, the summer was relatively cold and wet and the advance made was caught up. During the month of September, the sun dominated most of the time and the maturity was progressive. The crop came in continuously up until the first days of October for the plots of higher elevation and needed more time to reach perfect maturity. The crop was healthy, the grapes of good quality and the quantities were plentiful.

Location

Prestigious hill overlooking the Rhône river and the little village of Tain l’Hermitage. Located on the left bank of the Rhône, the vineyard is south facing and sheltered from the cold northern winds.


Process

The grapes are cold-macerated before being fermented for 28 days with pumping-over at the beginning followed by punching-down towards the end.
Ageing in new oak (10%) and in steel (90%) for 15 months.

Varietal

Syrah : 100%

Tasting

The colour is not as intense as in 2007.
The nose is very rich on notes of black and red fruit. The nose then turns more complex and intense.
IN the mouth the tannins appear quite powerful and need to be left to soften a bit.

Serving

On his youth, this wine develops nice and powerfull fruits aromas, which can be paired with red meat.
In few years, mushrooms and undergrowth secondary aromas, will match perfectly with games


Reviews



"If you see an AOC Hermitage wine without the "H", local tradition dictates you're getting a wine with ambition. An great example of Jaboulet-Perrin: food-friendly and fruit-forward with the steeliness and grace of the northern Rhône. Just 10 per cent new oak, this is aromatic with blueberry spice."
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16,5/20
"L'Ermitage 2011 offre une vision droite, verticale du cru, qui séduira les amateurs de grands crus de la Côte de Nuits."
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92/100
"Well-rendered, with a solid spine of graphite holding the blackberry paste, warm fig and fruitcake notes together, while singed apple wood and anise details fill in the background. Still a bit gutsy through the finish, so cellar to let this soften and meld fully."
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