M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon 2006

98/100 PP

"Showing more minerality than the le Meal, yet more plushness and sexiness than the l´Ermite, the 2006 Ermitage le Pavillon is a tour de force that gives up sensational notes of crushed rocks, blackberries, currants, smoked meats and licorice. It shows a touch of iron and bloodiness with time in the glass, is full-bodied, seamless and incredibly layered on the palate. There´s no shortage of tannin either and this beauty needs 4-5 years of cellaring to hit full maturity, and will keep for another 2-3 decades."
(Jeb Dunnuck, robertparker.com)

96-100/100 PP

"Potentially perfect is the 2006 Ermitage Le Pavillon. This is a monumental wine that also reminds me of the 1991. Inky black/purple to the rim, with an extraordinary nose of subtle smoke, melted licorice, creme de cassis, truffle, and graphite, full-bodied, powerful, with elevated tannins, but so sweet and velvety, the acidity gives the wine a freshness and precision as well as transparency. This is amazing stuff! Anticipated maturity: 2012-2045."
(Robert M. Parker, Jr., robertparker.com)

"Ermitage wines possess a rich historical past. They were appreciated as early on as Roman times when they were enjoyed (as well as Côte Rotie wines) under the name of " Vienne wines "and were later to be called " Saint Christopher\'s hillside wines " because of a chapel there bearing the saint\'s name. They were also to be known of as " Tournon wines ".
The name of Ermitage probably first appeared in the XVIIth Century in memory of Henry Gaspard, a knight from Stérimberg : who having come back from the Crusades (in the XIIIth Century) and tired of waging war, lived as a hermite on a hillside which had been given to him by Anne of Castille, Queen of Spain.
There he planted a vineyard. Alexander Dumas as well as the Tsar Nicholas II are among the many connoisseurs of this particularly highly estimated wine."
(Maison M. Chapoutier)