Smoked earth, blueberries, blackberries, graphite and huge minerality all emerge from the 2015 Ermitage Les Dionnières, which comes from older vines planted on the eastern/lower section of Hermitage, in more sedimentary soils. It saw a touch stems and 20% new oak. Full-bodied, concentrated, stacked and packed, with sweet, building tannin, forget bottles for 4-6 years and enjoy over the following two+ decades.

Complex and regal, this briskly balanced Syrah offers pristine blackberry and boysenberry flavors edged by layers of dried mushroom, underbrush and leather. It's succulent and silky yet stands firm and upright on fine, persistent tannins. It's balanced and heady, but will hold well through 2035.

An interesting study in contrasts and complexity, the 2015 Ermitage Les Dionnières is at once herbal and ripe, red and black-fruited. It's not as powerful or concentrated as the Le Méal bottling, but it offers gentler tannins, red currant and blackberry flavors and hints of green peppercorn. It's still a terrific wine and should drink well for at least two decades. -Joe Czerwinski