Winemaker Notes
Deep garnet red, with purplish lights. On the nose, red fruit (raspberry, blackcurrant), with a hint of licorice. A round and elegant wine with concentrated and gentle tannins. The final tastes are on blackcurrant, raspberry and spicy (pepper) aromas when it is young.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Hermitage Monier De La Sizeranne can be thought of as the entry-level Hermitage, yet it's no lightweight, wussy of a wine and has fabulous Hermitage aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, acacia flowers, and crushed stones. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautiful on the palate, it has incredible tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. This is pure class, and certainly not far off the top wines. It will keep for 25+ years.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Scents of cassis and red currants emerge on the nose of the 2017 Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne, a blend of fruit from across the entire face of Hermitage (but all from Chapoutier's own vineyards). It's full-bodied and concentrated, with a density not always found in this cuvée. Tannic and chewy yet mouthwatering on the long finish, it should drink well for a couple of decades.
-
Wine Spectator
Ripe and focused, with brightness to the plum, red currant and black cherry fruit that races through, lined with subtle alder, sanguine and iron hints. The tight-grained finish shows nice underlying tension. Best from 2022 through 2035. 150 cases imported.
-
James Suckling
This has rich and ripe dark berries and plums with violets and baking spices on offer, as well as a super fleshy and open-knit palate that delivers rich, succulent appeal.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
One of the smallest and most important Syrah regions of northern Rhone, Hermitage is practically one single south-facing slope of crushed granite, thinly covered with varied, yet well-charted soil types. Many climats (well identified parcels) exist within Hermitage and while some smaller producers make single climat Syrahs, some larger ones blend to make one balanced expression of the appellation.
Though the AC regulations allow the addition of up to 15% white grapes to a red Hermitage, in practice it is usually made from Syrah alone. Winemaking is pretty traditional—or you might say historic—with hot fermentations and aging in older barrels of various sizes. The best wines, characterized by deep, dense and sexy flavors of black fruit, cocoa, licorice and tobacco, have massive textures and a solid 10-20 years aging potential.
The region of Hermitage is totally enclosed; the only place it could go really is to literally fall down its own hill into the city of Tain or the Rhone River. Soil erosion is a problem and terraces exist alongside the hill in order to keep the earth in place. Crozes-Hermitage encloses the region entirely to its north and south.
While Hermitage seems synonymous with some of the best Syrah on the planet, actually about one third of the wine produced here comes from white grapes. The full, lush and robust Marsanne or the less common, but almost more charming, Roussanne create wonderful whites in which the best have great potential for aging, like the reds.