Hermitage (wine)
The Hermitage is one of the most famous French wines . It grows on the Zeugenberg of the same name on the orographic left bank of the Rhône , a good 80 kilometers south of the city of Lyon. The area of the appellation covers parts of three communes of the Drôme department : Tain-l'Hermitage , Crozes-Hermitage and Larnage . Hermitage is the only wine-growing region in the northern Rhône valley whose red and white wines are equally well regarded . In 2005, 4,238 hl red wine and 1,133 hl white wine were produced on 136 hectares of cultivation area. It should not be confused with the neighboring, but far less posh, Crozes-Hermitage .
Soil and climate
The Hermitage Hill was formed in the Ice Age , when the Rhône, after a rapid drop in sea level, created a breakthrough through this eastern branch of the Massif Central . Despite the small size, the Hermitage is geologically very diverse. In the highest, western part, the ground consists of granite , which weathered to fine clay . The eastern, larger part of the slope, on the other hand, is formed in the middle by rubble made of sand and limestone, which the Rhône had transported from the Alps. Younger sediments from the Worm Ice Age can be found at the foot of the slope . The highest points are again covered with loess . Limestone walls were built to secure the thin soil layers from slipping.
In the northern Rhône valley, the continental and Mediterranean climates mix. The latter has a stronger influence on the Hermitage than further north on the Côte-Rôtie . In addition, there is its extremely favorable microclimate - the Hermitage offers an ideal south-facing orientation while protecting against cold north winds. The rainfall is sufficient, but sometimes very heavy, which is why an elaborate system of drainage was created.
Locations and wines
The from the Syrah won red wine of Hermitage is the most powerful and longest lasting of the northern Rhone Valley. It is deep in color and develops complex aromas (mainly red and black fruits, spices and - with advanced aging - forest soil). In the mouth it appears powerful and mild at the same time. He is always with long mash prepares fermentation and traditionally aged in wooden barrels. Sometimes new barriques are used. A red Hermitage requires at least five, better ten, years of bottle aging . Great vintages develop for several decades.
White grape varieties are Marsanne and Roussanne , with the former dominating due to its more reliable yield. The white Hermitage is very full-bodied, aromatic and full of finesse. Despite the low acid values, it can be stored very well. Large vintages develop in the bottle for up to 30 years and develop complex fruit flavors. The basic yield is a low 40 hl / ha. A specialty is the straw wine , which has been produced again since the early eighties with very low yields of 15 hl / ha.
The different floors have led to a division into around 20 individual layers. In the past, these were rarely stated on the label, as Hermitage wines were typically cuvées from several locations. Since the end of the 1980s, some producers have also started offering single-site wines (Chapoutier Méal , Delas Bessards ) The most important are:
- Les Bessards : steep slope with weathered granite soil in the west of the mountain; delivers the most powerful and long-lasting red wines
- Le Méal : ideal orientation in the middle of the slope with a high proportion of pebbles and sand; results in fine, complex and harmonious red and white wines
- L'Hermite : Above Le Méal on calcareous loess soil; less complex red wine, but excellent white wine
- Les Greffieux : loamy soil interspersed with large pebbles at the foot of the hill; fine and aromatic red wines
- Rocoule : similar floor to Le Méal; excellent whites and very good red wines
- Les Murets : sandy-stony ground in the east of the hill; multi-layered white wines
The Hermitage producers' association has 18 members, including the La Cave de Tain cooperative, which annually produces over a quarter of the total Hermitage wine with 20.7 ha of its own vineyards and 9.75 ha from 14 vintners who supply it. The wines of Jean-Louis Chave, Maison Châpoutier, Delas Frères, Bernard Faurie, Paul Jaboulet Ainé and Marc Sorrel enjoy a special reputation. The cuvées Le Pavillon (from Les Bessards ) by Châpoutier and La Chapelle (in a composition of Méal (min. 25%) , Bessards , Greffieux , Rocoules , La Croix and Diognières ) by Jaboulet Ainé each have several times from Robert Parker received the highest rating of 100 points in its wine rating . The legendary 1961 vintage of La Chapelle is now one of the most expensive wines in the world (12 bottles were sold for over € 173,000 at a Christie's auction in 2007). But this also makes it one of the wines that are most frequently counterfeited.
history
Viticulture at the Hermitage certainly dates back to Roman times. Already Strabo reported in the year 38 n. Chr., That the banks of the Rhone were covered with vines. There was a temple of Hercules on the summit of the Hermitage. After it was destroyed in the early Middle Ages, it was replaced by a St Christopher Chapel. According to legend, the crusader Gaspard de Sterimberg settled there as a hermit in 1224 and began to replant the hill. The reputation of wine spread through the many travelers who stopped here on the way from Lyon to the Mediterranean. It was exported to all of Europe as early as the 17th century, including to the court of the Russian tsars. For example, the French President Émile Loubet was served Hermitage on his state visit to Russia in 1902.
In 1937 the Hermitage Contrôlée appellation was launched. It is noteworthy that their delimitation has remained unchanged since then. Today 70% of the vineyards are owned by the four largest producers.
literature
- Hubrecht Duijker: The best wines - Rhône and southern France . Albert Müller Verlag, Zurich, Stuttgart, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-275-00891-9 .
- Pierre Galet : Cépages et Vignobles de France . 1st edition. Lavoisier Publishing House, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7430-0585-8 .
- Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon . Hallwag, Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8338-0691-5 .
- Benoît France (ed.): Grand Atlas des Vignobles de France . Éditions SOLAR publishing house, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-263-03242-8 .
- John Livingstone-Learmonth: The wines of the Northern Rhône . University of California Press, Ltd., 2005, ISBN 0-520-24433-8 .