TN: 2007 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon

[Ray Barnes]

I was planning to uncork this in a year or two, but when my wife, bless her heart, cooked up some chateaubriand on a Wednesday afternoon, along with some quinoa, I decided there is no better time than the present. The following observations are entirely my own, good, bad or indifferent. In the glass, it is deep reddish purple, opaque, with a slight lightening at the rim. Normal viscosity. The nose is open, with floral hints (guessing violet), and a combination of blackcurrant, blackberry, and in the second glass, incense. One can also smell a bit of cedar and maybe a touch of smoke too. This smells awesome. In the mouth, one can "feel" an iron/metallic texture, which does not influence the flavor greatly, but gives the wine more weight, although it is remains fresh. One feels a sense of restrained power combined with elegance and harmony. I suppose this is what the experts, of which I am emphatically not among, call finesse. There is a touch of cherry in the mouth too, along with the dark fruit. Palette coating stuff indeed, one drinks it almost like a liqueur. The tannins are mildly sweet. The finish is 60+ seconds. It's 14% alcohol, and one hardly notices it at all. Strange as this sounds, it feels like someone tried to combine Chambertin Clos de Beze and Chateau La Mission Haut Brion and mutated them into this wine. I expected the wine to have some Burgundian or claret-like features, but absolutely not both. Quite fascinating to drink, apart from being absolutely delicious - and needless to say a superior pairing with the food. Not to mention, it is smooooth.

As I presently understand it, the wine, 100% syrah, is sourced from the lieu-dit Les Bessards, located near the chapel on the Hermitage hill. The vines are of considerable age (I think about 80 years), and the wine is made according to biodynamics. This includes a wax seal on the top, which frankly I could have done without. The soil is predominantly granite, which Chapoutier favors in general. The slope, and view of the village and the Rhone, is every bit as staggering as the wine.

One gripe - my wife and I had a devil of a time trying to uncork this bottle. In the end, in spite of all due diligence in storage, we had to remove the cork piecemeal. Considering the great pedigree of this wine, that is, if it's a common problem, almost inexcusable. Perhaps we were just unlucky.

Overall assessment: great, in spite of the cork issue.
Amount paid: $116
Would buy again: Yes, albeit not very often
Value for money: Very good, at this quality level
Aging potential: probably another 15 to 20 years or more. I'd rather not be proven correct. My wife thought it could have used another year before opening.

Ray