'Ermitage Le Pavillon' Côtes du Rhône AOC Chapoutier Michel 2011

The Ermitage Le Pavillon red wine is one of the top wines of the renowned Chapoutier Michel winery, obtained exclusively using delicious Syrah grapes from very ancient vineyards, up to 100 years of age! The Hermitage hill, with its soil rich in mineral salts and ideal climatic conditions, is the main area for growing vines in the Rhone valley. Its name derives from a historical tradition which has it that a knight built his hermitage (Hermitage) in those areas, dedicating himself to the vineyard. And in this area the winery has been producing wines of the highest quality and with a unique taste for years. The production of the Ermitage Le Pavillon is treated in detail. The harvest of Syrah grapes (in purity) is done only by hand, selecting ripe bunches and with the right sugar content. After fermentation, the wine ages for a prolonged period in wooden barrels (about 20 months) so that all the organoleptic characteristics can be enhanced, before refining directly in the bottle. The result is a wine with extraordinary characteristics, perfectly balanced and structured, really soft, concentrated and intense as only ancient vineyards can give. At the glass we have a complex, powerful, velvety and balanced attack, long, very long finish with notes of licorice, tobacco, cocoa. The longevity of this wine is extraordinary: one can easily speak of 30 or 40 years (and even more).