| 2008-04-08 09:14 |
IWC:
By Josh Raynolds
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Issue #136, January/February 2008)
(Ferraton Pere et Fils Ermitage Les Dionnieres) ($85) Inky purple. Fragrant bouquet of red and dark berries, incense, smoky minerals and fresh flowers. Becomes more energetic and spicy with air, finishing with lovely sweetness, clarity and persistence. This is gorgeous, and I'll bet that it'll get better. 92(+?) points |
| 2008-04-08 09:15 |
WA: At the southern end of Ermitage is the vineyard called Les Dionnieres, and the 2005 Ermitage Les Dionnieres (only 156 cases) has a dense ruby/purple color, a nose of roasted tomato confit intermixed with creme de cassis, licorice, graphite, and spice. It is ripe, full-bodied, and impressive.
As I said last year, Michel Chapoutier is expending considerable amounts of money and energy to upgrade the wines of Ferraton. He still controls the biodynamic farming of many of their vineyards, and is totally responsible for the negociant blends that are put together. His emphasis is on terroir, purity of fruit, and earlier bottling to preserve the wine’s character. I thought the 2006s were perhaps his strongest overall vintage since he has been running this enterprise. In approaching the Ferraton wines, one has to realize the lower end is the negociant range, which include their generic Cotes du Rhones, the Crozes-Hermitage La Matiniere, the St.-Joseph, and the Hermitage Les Miaux, and then of course, the single-vineyard wines such as the St.-Joseph Les Oliviers, Ermitage Les Dionnieres, Ermitage Le Meal, and Crozes-Hermitage Le Grand Courtil.
Importer: A French Paradox, Peoria, IL; tel. (309) 682-8994 |