2008-04-08 09:04 |
WA: The 2005 Ermitage Le Meal from that famous parcel on the mid-/upper slope with fabulous exposition, represents 357 cases. A terrific effort from Ferraton, the wine has a dense purple color to the rim, a sweet, smoky, black currant nose intermixed with blood, tapenade, truffle, and spice box. It is full-bodied, opulent, rich, and surprisingly approachable for a 2005. I must have caught it on a good day, because the tannins are there, but not aggressive. This wine should evolve for at least 20-25 years.
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 |