We all know the Greek, who runs the top wine store in the Rhone and who has been the first retailer to sell pretty much every top winery in the region. We call him the King of the Rhone. He knows all of the best plots in the entire region and makes a series of stunning wines.This is perhaps the hardest to get and I'm thrilled to sell the 2015 Compagnie L'Hermitage Chateauneuf-du-Pape "lieu dit Pignan" for as little as $89.99 a bottle NET. This is 100% old vine Grenache (80-100 years) and is one of the greatest Chateauneuf-du-Papes I have ever tasted. In 2015, George says it is better than Rayas and the best pure Grenache made in all of the Rhone in 2015. Jeb Dunnuck gave it 95-97 pts. It is such a deep, stoney and extraordinarily complex wine.
The nose is pungent and aromatic with a raspberry coulis, complex spice and so much stoney minerality. The fruit and freshness are once in a generation type stuff. Deep, palate staining fruit and astonishing balance. It goes on for minutes and after proper aeration an perfume like you cannot believe develops. There is also mind-boggling inner mouth perfume. Darker fruits than more red. And this wine is so stoney, which I will repeat often. I can only imagine the source of the vineyard and grapes given the name of the wine. This is a CDP in a pure style with astonishing depth and layers of fruit all presented on slabs of rock. For my money, this is as good as many of the more high priced deluxe cuvees out there and the 2012 got 95 pts from Jeb Dunnuck and he said it was amongst the top CDPs of the vintage. The 2015 is MUCH better.
This is very limited as only 600 bottles were made in this vintage. This is only made in vintages that have perfect conditions. There was none made in 2013 and 2012 was sold out before I opened Fass Selections. I am VERY lucky to get an allocation of this wine and this is the second time I am offering this insanely rare cuvee. This will be allocated so put in your top amount and I try and abide.
"A shockingly good wine from the Southern Rhône, the 2015 Châteauneuf du Pape Lieu Dit Pignan is a huge, sexy and incredibly pure wine that's loaded with classic Pignan aromas and flavors of wild strawberries, black cherries, exotic spring flowers and white pepper. This full-bodied Châteauneuf du Pape has a stacked mid-palate, polished tannin, no hard edges and a great finish. Count me impressed . . . ." 95-97 pts! Jeb Dunnuck The Wine Advocate
One of the things George is the most proud of and is also the most secretive about are his sources for his cuvees that fall under the name Compagnie l'Hermitage, which is the name of his store. He knows everyone and anyone in the Rhone and has only the best sources for his vineyards and fruit for cuvees he puts his name or his store's name on. He's been tasting the best wines from the region every year for decades and knows exactly where to get the absolutely best fruit. He also picks incredibly talented winemakers to partner with to make the wines. These wines are all undeniably great and some of the best examples of their appellations. And this is his side project. The guy is amazing! They are thrilling wines. George is an uncompromising guy and he oversees all the vineyards and winemaking decisions. It shows as these are some of the greatest wines I sell and they are also amongst the rarest. I tasted the whole batch when I was there and they all, as expected, blew me away.
2015 Compagnie l'Hermitage Chateauneuf-du-Pape
"Lieu Dit Le Pignan" - $89.99 NET (VERY LIMITED)
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