Maison Nicolas Perrin Ermitage Maison Nicolas Perrin Ermitage Macro

Maison Nicolas Perrin Ermitage - 2013

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

There was a huge amount of rainfall during the winter of 2013. This allowed to fill up the water tables.
The temperatures were very unusually hot in April but then dropped considerably in May (an average of 9 to 10 C less than usual). On top of the cooler climate, the precipitations were very significant at the end of May, which delayed the flowering of the vines.
The nice weather came back in June. Despite a temperamental spring and the vegetation being a little delayed, the new shoots look healthy and promising.
The summer was twofold: In July, the weather alternated between dry and sunny spells and storms (including a bit of impact with hale). August was a hotter and drier month of.
The accumulated delay was noticed at the time of harvest as we started around September 25th. The maturities were very consistent depending on the appellation, the terroir, the altitude.

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 (30%) and in steel (70%) 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


93/100
"Youthfully vibrant, with notes of cassis, cherry preserves and raspberry coulis streaming along, picking up anise, violet and black tea accents along the way. Lovely focus through the finish, with a mineral edge."
-