Maison Nicolas Perrin Ermitage Rouge - 2007
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…”.
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 weather in 2007 was intermittent with periods of cold and wet weather and high temperatures. Even if the flowering was premature due to an unusually warm month of April, harvest actually started later than originally forecasted back in July. The summer was slightly cooler than usual and the sun was timid. The sampling mid-August finally showed late maturity. As from August 20th we had high temperatures with plenty of sunshine and this throughout the month September. This allowed for a slow and progressive maturity of the grapes up until harvest around September 12th.
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.
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.
The nose is very rich on notes of black and red fruit. The nose then turns more complex and intense.
IN the mouth the tannins appear quite powerful and need to be left to soften a bit.
On his youth, this wine develops nice and powerfull fruits aromas, which can be paired with red meat.
In few years, mushrooms and undergrowth secondary aromas, will match perfectly with games
Syrah : 100 %
Une collaboration entre deux grandes familles de la vallée du Rhône, Nicolas Jaboulet, originaire de la partie septentrionale et les frères Perrin, issus de la vénérable famille chatelneuvoise, propriétaires du château de Beaucastel. Le but de leur projet est de réunir leurs expertises en assemblage et élevage des grands vins de la vallée, en produisant des cuvées amples et généreuses sur des appellations légendaires comme l'Ermitage, Côte Rôtie et le Saint Joseph. Nous trouvons ce partenariat très prometteur et attendons avec impatience l'évolution de ce projet innovant."
Ermitage 2007
Rouge/ 2011 à 2015 15,5/20
Le vin est tendu, avec une belle minéralité, de la chair, avec un boisé intégré et harmonieux.
Guide Bettane et Desseauve 2011
, 2010-10-01
This wine is easily the best of the first crop of releases from Maison Nicolas Perrin, a self-described “boutique negociant” that is a cooperative venture between the Perrin family (famous for Chateau Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape) and Nicolas Jaboulet. It shows serious richness and concentration, with impressive structural balance between ripe softness and tannic grip. What is most impressive, however, is the complexity of the aromas and flavors, which show lovely fruit notes recalling dark berries and cherries that are accented with notes of smoked meat, woodsmoke, sautéed mushrooms and spices. Already delicious with food, this will become considerably more complex if you can keep your hands off of it for another three or four years--which won’t be easy after your first taste of it.
Michael Franz
, 92/100
, 2010-10-14
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
A very polished, juicy style, with blueberry and blackberry fruit laced with licorice and fruitcake notes. The long, round finish is more exuberant than concentrated, though there's good length.
James Molesworth
Wine Spectator
, 89/100