2017 Crozes-Ermitage, Les Varonniers, Chapoutier (6 x Bottle)

Opaque violet. Highly perfumed red and dark berry, exotic spice, incense, violet and smoky bacon aromas show outstanding clarity and pick up hints of black tea and licorice with air. Deeply concentrated, mineral-accented red and blue fruit preserve and bitter cherry flavors are complemented by a hint of candied flowers on the back half. Broad and chewy in texture, showing noteworthy tension and finishing with strong, floral- and mineral-dominated persistence and youthful tannins that lend solid final grip. This wine is sourced from two small, west-facing sites abutting the Hermitage hill and shares the same soils as the famed Hermitage lieu-dit Les Bessards. In most vintages, Like 2017, it can easily rival many an Hermitage for depth, power and complexity, not to mention age-worthiness.