Remizieres Cuvee Emilie Hermitage Rouge 2017 14.5% Vol. 0,75l

Remizières Cuvée Emilie Hermitage Rouge 2017

Desmeures has very small holdings in Hermitage, and his Hermitage Cuvee Emilie (named after his daughter, who is now helping him in the cellar) has notes of road tar and barbecue smoke along with creme de cassis and licorice. Full-bodied, powerful, and backward, it is a monolithic wine that will need cellaring. Give it 3-4 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 10-15 years.

A family-owned estate now working 35 hectares of vines. The style here is modern, with a number of cuvées being generously oaked. Remizières was once known for its white wines, but now more for the reds. Owner Philippe Desmeures has now been joined by his daughter Emilie and son Christophe.

The nose is a touch muted here, closed in by reduction (i.e. it needs the oxygen afforded by a good racking). Yet in the mouth, a swell of rich, creamy cool fruit assaults the tongue and its reinforcement is the huge mineral grip that comes thereafter. Really straight and direct Hermitage; very intense and very concentrated. And yes, very, very mineral, too. Upright, big, very grippy tannins lead on to an earthen, mineral finish. Very fresh and really serious, as Hermitage should be!

RP96