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

After a fairly cold and dry winter, we had a rainly mild spring. In the summer we experienced periods of drought. The nights were cool in August which kept the grapes healthy. Harvest started the last week of September with the vines from the hills of the locality of Greffieux with sunny and windy conditions. The grapes were at perfect maturity and the sorting took place in the cellar. After 28 days of fermentation, the wines were barrelled. They already reveal a deep colour and a good tannin structure.

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.

Tasting

The colour is intense in 2007 and 2008.
The nose is very rich with notes of red and black fruit and intense complexity.
The mouth shows tannins that need a bit of ageing.

Serving

Still very young, this wine needs to age a few more months before it reaches it’s optimum.
The 2008 vintage can be drunk in the next 5 years.

Grapes

Syrah : 100 %

Wine Spectator

A rather ripe, well-toasted style, with lots of mocha and dark licorice up front, backed by plum pudding, fruitcake and currant paste notes. The long, toast-driven finish has nice grip. Rock solid, mouthfilling style. Drink now through 2015. 75 cases made.
James Molesworth
Wine Spectator , 92 , 2010-10-01

Cette toute jeune maison de négoce est née de l'association de la famille Perrin (du Château de Beaucastel à Châteauneuf-du-pape) et de Nicolas Jaboulet (ex-directeur de la maison familiale Paul Jaboulet et Fils). Deux grandes pointures du sud et du nord de la vallée, qui sortent une petite collection de crus du nord. Les premiers vins sont encourageants. Les vins: 100% négoce, sans aucun vignoble mais un grand savoir-faire de la sélection, ils expriment un fruité très franc et l'élevage ne corsète pas les jus. Les cinq premiers vins sont tous précis dans la définition attendue des terroirs.L'Ermitage possède la densité et la suavité minérale attendues du cru. Bravo. Nous avons hâte de déguster les prochaines sélections !
Guide de la RVF , 16 , 2010-10-01

La Revue du Vin de France

Their adventure should have been called “Jaboulet-Perrin” or “Beaucastel-La Chapelle” but when the family business is sold by one of the partners and bans them to use their patronymic, they came up with “Maison Nicolas Perrin”. This young negociant company is therefore the partnership between two major heirs : Nicolas Jaboulet (ex Director of Maison Paul Jaboulet & Fils) and Marc Perrin (Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf du Pape). In 2008 these two men from the Rhône Valley get together to mature and sell wine. Their mission is to locate quality plots of Syrah, create partnerships with the winegrowers and follow the winemaking process. The wine is barrelled at the winegrowers and then blended and aged in the Perrin cellars near Orange. Marc blends and Nicolas manages the sales and administration. They are very selective and only work with a dozen of barrels (35 000 bottles in 2010). Bring on the next selections !
A. Gerbelle
La Revue du Vin de France , 2011-01-01