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2009 Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal Blanc Marsanne
Marsanne: 750ml
$209.99
about this wine:
As I have written many times, all of these wines are produced from
rigidly cultivated, bio-dynamically managed vineyards. That has been the
rule since Michel Chapoutier first took over this firm in the late
1980s. Now, with over 20 years of biodynamic viticulture under his belt,
Chapoutier remains committed to this rather radical style of organic
farming. He believes the effect is to reduce rot in damp, rainy
vintages. Moreover, he has observed that after 10 to 15 years of
biodynamic farming, the natural acids tend to be more vivid and the
overall pH of the soils (as well as the wines) has dropped.
Controversial, outspoken and brutally candid, Chapoutier, who suffers no
fools, continues to admirably produce wines that are among the finest
in the world and potentially the longest lived. Refusing to acidify,
chaptalize, or touch the wines in any way, he clearly wants every wine
to capture the very essence of its terroir and vintage personality. In
this, he succeeds remarkably. --- Robert Parker
points awarded:
ST 93-95 WA 98-100 WS 98Chuck Hayward, JJ Buckley, March 2011
100% marsanne from 50 year old vines. Yellow gold color. The bouquet here is a touch reserved at this stage with interesting hints of ginger, nutmeg and fresh seedless grapes wafting about. Very lively on the palate with some pronounced minerality on the backpalate, hints of ripe lemon infused fruit also reveal notes of sponge cake and confectionary sugar. The finish is dry and has good length of flavor. Tasted as a barrel sample three months before release.
98 -100 points,
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, February 2011
The 2009 Ermitage Le Meal Blanc exhibits more exotic tropical fruit (mango, orange blossom and nectarine) as well as white currants. Very intense with slightly lower acid than l'Oree, and a rounder, more corpulent, fleshy mouthfeel, this mind-boggling white Hermitage admirably demonstrates why, in the late eighteenth century, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his diary that white Hermitage was the greatest dry white wine made in France.
93 -95 points,
Stephen Tanzer's IWC, February 2011
Bright gold. Exotic aromas of papaya, apricot and melon, with pungent floral and spice qualities. Deeply fruity and round, offering citrus-accented pit and tropical fruit flavors and a strong spicy quality on the back end. Finishes smooth, with lingering suggestions of turmeric and saffron. -Josh Raynolds
98 points,
Wine Spectator, April 2012
An intense and gorgeous wine, with a rich yet remarkably racy core of starfruit, fennel, anise, white peach and chamomile that courses along, followed by a gorgeous finish of salted butter and blanched almond. There's lots of flesh, but also invigorating, almost crunchy acidity buried deeply. Drink now through 2027. From France. -J.M.
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