Le Meal Hermitage Rouge 2020 6x75cl

Nose: ripe fruits and smoky aromas. Palate: powerful tannins, velvety, blackberry jam. According to the vintage, the wine can be kept from 30 to 60 years, indeed from 50 to 75 years.

Vineyards

The wine is only produced with grapes coming from the Méal hillside. This slope is composed of high terraces of shingles and clay. The vines are about 50 years old.

Vintage

2020 will undoubtedly stand out as an atypical year. The winter was mild marked, by a water shortage over the period, although reserves from 2019 helped to alleviate this. Budbreak was 10 days earlier than in previous vintages. Although snow fell after budbreak and frost was a real risk, it only affected a few vines in Beaumont Moneux. June brought plentiful heat and sunshine in the Northern Rhône and some welcome rain in the Southern Rhône. Grenache in the Southern Rhône looked beautiful and Syrah in the north perfectly balanced. Harvest was earlier than usual starting in early September and proceeded calmly and without any weather pressures. Marked by exceptional earliness and scorching mid-summer heat, the 2020 vintage offers us wines full of elegance and pedigree. They have all the markers of great ageing potential thanks to preserved acidity and remarkable phenolic maturity. The elegance of the red wines and the expression of minerality supported by a beautiful acidity on the whites are the hallmarks of this particular vintage that is full of surprises.

Winemaking

The harvest, totally destemmed, is vinified in a small cement vat. High temperature maceration enables a good extraction of grape potential, to obtain soft and stable tannins, compulsory to keep the wine for a very long time. Only the free-run juice is used in this single vineyard. Wine is matured in new or one year old cask. Maturing lasts between 14 and 18 months. The clarification is natural.

Enjoy with:

• Grilled and Roasted Red Meats
• Grilled and Roasted White Meats
• Pizza/Pasta
• Mild Creamy Cheeses
• Mature Strong Cheeses

Great with game