It is a red week and I have been looking for a grape to represent H. There is Heroldrebe, which I have never knowingly tried, but the write-ups are not hugely encouraging and the grape itself is a cross between Blauer Portugieser and Lemberger. The first of these was week B (2014) and was not unpleasant, nor a revelation, so I decided to aim higher.
Hermitage is not a grape, but a hill at the Southern end of the Northern Rhone (if that makes sense) and one of the most famous names in the world of French wine. The hill is the spiritual home of the grape known in Australia as Shiraz, but in France and the rest of the Old World as Syrah.
The hill overlooks the town of Tain L'Hermitage and, across the river, Tournon and is composed almost entirely of granite. The vineyards cover 120 hectares of the steep South-West facing slopes, in terraces, to make the most of the continental summer sunshine that not only ripens the grapes but heats the soil to provide growing conditions ideal for the rich, deep wines for which the area is famous.
Being a small appellation the production volumes are not high at around 750,000 bottles a year, compared to 14,500,000 further to the South in the well known Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and so the name carries a premium.
Week H (2014) is Caves de Tain, Hermitage, 2008. £25.99 from Waitrose.
Is is a medium intensity ruby colour with an interesting nose of blackcurrant, a floral tone or two and some vanilla-liquorice influences, too. The last of these are evidence of the 100% Syrah having spent 18 months in oak before bottling.
Being made from grapes picked in 2008 it has had around four years in the bottle for the components to settle into each other and the fine, silky tannins are well integrated with the plentiful and still fresh fruit flavours. It is 13% abv, but the alcohol is not too prominent.
This wine would probably continue to develop in the bottle over the next few years (if I hadn't opened it!) and could be expected to be enjoyably drinkable for at least a couple of decades.
This is a classic French wine with a long history and it is easy to see how it gained and maintains its status. Reportedly, wine-making in this area dates back to the Romans and Hermitage became popular in the Royal courts of Europe. It was even added to the blends of top Bordeaux wines to improve them, in the 18th century, and that is quite a recommendation.
Wine is a very sociable drink and a good story to accompany a good glass is always welcome. It perhaps should be no surprise that Hermitage, being so prized, has much to offer in this department.
One such tale concerns a period of twenty years up to 1229, when there was an intense conversation underway between two groups of Christians about how best to live up to the ideal of loving one's neighbours. (This is referred to by historians as the Albigensian Crusade.) On one side of the discussion was the Knight Gaspard de Sterimberg who received something other than brotherly understanding from a fellow Knight and had to find a place to let the bruising come out. The Queen allowed him to build a refuge on our hill, where he lived out his days as a hermit. And that is how the hill got its name, O Best Beloved.
Hermitage is not a grape, but a hill at the Southern end of the Northern Rhone (if that makes sense) and one of the most famous names in the world of French wine. The hill is the spiritual home of the grape known in Australia as Shiraz, but in France and the rest of the Old World as Syrah.
The hill overlooks the town of Tain L'Hermitage and, across the river, Tournon and is composed almost entirely of granite. The vineyards cover 120 hectares of the steep South-West facing slopes, in terraces, to make the most of the continental summer sunshine that not only ripens the grapes but heats the soil to provide growing conditions ideal for the rich, deep wines for which the area is famous.
Being a small appellation the production volumes are not high at around 750,000 bottles a year, compared to 14,500,000 further to the South in the well known Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and so the name carries a premium.
Week H (2014) is Caves de Tain, Hermitage, 2008. £25.99 from Waitrose.Is is a medium intensity ruby colour with an interesting nose of blackcurrant, a floral tone or two and some vanilla-liquorice influences, too. The last of these are evidence of the 100% Syrah having spent 18 months in oak before bottling.
Being made from grapes picked in 2008 it has had around four years in the bottle for the components to settle into each other and the fine, silky tannins are well integrated with the plentiful and still fresh fruit flavours. It is 13% abv, but the alcohol is not too prominent.
This wine would probably continue to develop in the bottle over the next few years (if I hadn't opened it!) and could be expected to be enjoyably drinkable for at least a couple of decades.
This is a classic French wine with a long history and it is easy to see how it gained and maintains its status. Reportedly, wine-making in this area dates back to the Romans and Hermitage became popular in the Royal courts of Europe. It was even added to the blends of top Bordeaux wines to improve them, in the 18th century, and that is quite a recommendation.
Wine is a very sociable drink and a good story to accompany a good glass is always welcome. It perhaps should be no surprise that Hermitage, being so prized, has much to offer in this department.
One such tale concerns a period of twenty years up to 1229, when there was an intense conversation underway between two groups of Christians about how best to live up to the ideal of loving one's neighbours. (This is referred to by historians as the Albigensian Crusade.) On one side of the discussion was the Knight Gaspard de Sterimberg who received something other than brotherly understanding from a fellow Knight and had to find a place to let the bruising come out. The Queen allowed him to build a refuge on our hill, where he lived out his days as a hermit. And that is how the hill got its name, O Best Beloved.
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