M. Chapoutier’s Ermitage “Le Pavillon” 2014 is a single-vineyard Hermitage from the granite-rich Bessards sector, made from 100% Syrah. The estate is known for organic and biodynamic farming, and this cuvée is built around low-yielding old vines and a cellar approach that favors concentration and structure. At 14% alcohol, it’s a serious, full-bodied Northern Rhône red designed to age.
Critical reception for 2014 is notably strong, with several excellent reviews. Jeb Dunnuck, writing in *Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate*, awarded 96 points and called it “another wine from this team that defies the vintage,” describing it as “full-bodied, concentrated, impeccably balanced and seamless,” with “classic notes of crushed rocks, graphite, cassis and blackcurrants,” plus “sweet tannin.” Dunnuck adds that while it “offers pleasure even today,” it “won’t hit maturity for another decade,” underscoring its long runway.
*Wine Spectator* (95 points) emphasizes fruit and lift, calling it “juicy and energetic,” packed with “raspberry, blackberry and boysenberry confiture notes,” and finishing with savory complexity—“hints of sage, mint and tobacco,” and “a flash of iron.” Their suggested window runs “from 2018 through 2030.”
James Suckling also scored it 96, noting it is “made from 65 year old vines on the granitic Bessards section of Hermitage,” and highlighting a more polished, supple side: “extremely supple and smooth,” with “attractive, fine-cut tannins” and “a long, plush and very polished” finish. He recommends “Drink 2020 and beyond.”
More recently, Nicolas Greinacher at *Vinous* (94 points) reported that it “isn’t quite ready for action just yet,” but with air shows “pronounced graphite, cured meat, cigar box and blackcurrant aromatics.” He calls it “taut and precise,” “refined and concentrated,” advising “two more years in a cool cellar” before opening.
