Last year, in the Financial Times, Jancis Robinson asked: “Why is Hermitage not as celebrated today as it should be?” Then she continues: “It may be partly due to the high prices and small quantities of Chapoutier’s top bottlings, the natural reticence of Jean-Louis Chave, and uncertainty over the wines of Paul Jaboulet Aîné, whose Hermitage La Chapelle was once seen as the lodestar of the appellation.” Today, Jeb Dunnuck’s new scores (Wine Advocate, Robert Parker guide) on 2011 & 2012 Northern Rhone wines honour Hermitage. This may help this small but prestigious appellation to be celebrated again as it should be…
No Jaboulet wine in the top 10 wines of 2011 in the new review of Robert Parker. Maison M.Chapoutier is the unique Rhone estate to reach the perfect score with two wines – Ermitage Ermite white & Pavillon red – obtaining 100 points. Getting 99 points, Delas’s Hermitage Les Bessards confirms its current position among the top wines of Hermitage. Only Cote Rotie in the top 10, Stephane Ogier’s La Belle Helene gets 98 points which confirms the iconic status of this wine estate that obtained 100 RP points in both 2009 & 2010 vintages. Christine Vernay ranks first in Condrieu with 98 points for the Coteau de Vernon cuvee. No Jaboulet’s Hermitage La Chapelle neither Guigal’s wines listed in this prestigious palmares.
The top 10 wines for 2011 Northern Rhone:
- Ermitage Ermite white (Maison M.Chapoutier): 100 points
- Ermitage Pavillon red (Maison M.Chapoutier): 100 points
- Hermitage Bessards (Delas): 99 points
- Ermitage De l’Oree (Maison M.Chapoutier): 99 points
- Ermitage Meal white (Maison M.Chapoutier): 99 points
- Cote Rotie Belle Helene (Stephane Ogier): 98 points
- Ermitage Meal red (Maison M.Chapoutier): 98 points
- Ermitage Ermite red (Maison M.Chapoutier): 98+ points
- Condrieu Coteau de Vernon (Domaine Georges Vernay): 98 points
- Condrieu Coteaux de Chery (Maison M.Chapoutier): 97 points
If it is still too early to analayze a same kind of palmares for 2012 Northern Rhone wines (as some wines have not been bottled yet, some scores are not definitive and only a range was given for the moment), the trend is approximately the same with no Jaboulet wine in the Top 10. Here Guigal – with Cote Rotie La Mouline, La Landonne, La Turque – shares the palmares with Maison M.Chapoutier that gets the only definitive 100 points with the Ermitage Ermite
white.
The top 10 wines for 2012 Northern Rhone:
- Ermitage Ermite white (Maison M.Chapoutier) : 100 points
- Ermitage De l’Oree (Maison M.Chapoutier): 99 points
- Ermitage Meal white (Maison M.Chapoutier): 98 points
- Ermitage Pavillon (Maison M.Chapoutier): (98-100) points
- Condrieu Doriane (Guigal): 98 points
- Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines (Alain Voge): (97-99) points
- Ermitage Ermite red (Maison M.Chapoutier): (97-100) points
- Ermitage Meal rouge (Maison M.Chapoutier): (97-99) points
- Cote Rotie La Landonne (Guigal): (97-99) points
- Cote Rotie La Mouline (Guigal): (97-99) points
With Chave (96-98 points), Stephane Ogier’s La Belle Helene (95-98 points) and Jaboulet’s La Chapelle (95-97 points) not far away, 2012 appears to be extremely competitive among top wines. As Jeb Dunnuck puts it: “The northern Rhône is on a roll, with incredible vintages in 2009 and 2010, and outstanding vintages in 2011 and 2012. In addition, 2013 also appears to be another high quality year.” In fact, on the first day of 2014, these are brilliant news for Northern Rhone wine producers !
(Write to VitaBella info@vitabella.fr)
