The great hill of Hermitage is about as impressive and awe-inspiring as any great place in the world. It could theoretically be the 8th wonder of the world. It as majestic as the great pyramids and as imposing as Mt. Everest and it's not getting any bigger. That is the allure of Hermitage. It is finite. It it also expensive. Chave/Sorrel are but a few names that can attract rabid fan bases (and stratospheric prices). I still cannot believe that I am lucky enough to sell the brilliant Hermitages of Michelle Luyton. I thank my lucky stars every day that I can sell Hermitage that many of us can afford. From when I started with her(2011) to now she has improved greatly as a winemaker and is firmly a star in my book. Her style is based on finesse and complexity but this is Hermitage after all and the grandiosity of this wonderful site cannot be tamed. Even if your style is finesse and complexity, 2015 will add power and concentration.
Today I am thrilled to offer TWO 2015 Hermitage rouges from Michelle Luyton. Yes, TWO, in capital letters, as the vintage is so special that she made two cuvees. The difference in both is the way they were raised. The higher end one was raised in fancier wood. They both will be bottled in May. Both are stunning and both are the best red wines Michelle has ever made. One note is that the high end cuvee does not have a name yet, so for the purposes of this email I am calling it Prestige. When you get it, it might be called something different.
First up is the 2015 Michelle Luyton Hermitage for $44.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. Boy, has Michelle Luyton improved since her 2011 vintage. Her 2015 is vastly underpriced given the quality we are talking about here. Just a stunning stunning bottle of Hermitage. The nose is mineral and so deep. Just stunning aromas of blackberry fruit, meat, blood, mashed dark flowers and almost feral vibe but in the best way possible. The palate is deep, and I mean deep (we are firmly in the deep end of the pool now) and very powerful and very concentrated. There is so much material. I've never had a Luyton wine this structured and at the same time so fresh. The palate impact is intense and so so pretty. Amazing how she kept her complex and elegant style and still retained the deep structure of the vintage. There is tiny berry fruit that is so vivid and so explosive that this wine lets you know it is a 2015. This was in barrel when I tasted it and it is by far the most backwards and promising young Luyton Hermitage I have ever tasted. I think this is a 20-25 year wine at least. For $45 this is a brilliant value.
Up next is the debut of the 2015 Michelle Luyton Hermitage "Prestige" for $57.99 a bottle for a 3-pack. This is very limited. This is ridiculous wine and a testament to the quality of 2015 in the Northern Rhone and specifically Hermitage. This is the best wine Michelle has ever made. This wine is rich. But so elegant. How can something this big be so hauntingly elegant is a question I kept asking Michelle the whole time. She had no answer. The depth of the fruit is unconscious. The nose is peppery, meaty, leathery, earthy and herbal with deep, deep blackberry fruit and that extra thing aromatically in 2015 that I only find in the top wines. It's a special aroma that cannot be described. I've only found it in a handful of wines. This is one of them. Almost like a super terroir aroma if that makes sense. Peppery deep deep fruit on the palate. And the finish is massive. Structured, deep and insanely juicy and just so long. If there is a wine that can be light and heavy at the same time this is it. This is a monumental wine that is a testament to the vintage and especially the high quality in Hermitage. This is one you bury deep deep in the back of the cellar. But then open it in 10-15 years and go to a 2015 Hermitage tasting and blow people away.
I'm also offering the 2015 Michelle Luyton Hermitage Blanc for $44.99 on a 4 pack. I had it last week and it was just absurd how great it was. Just an insane bottle of wine. This is the best white Hermitage value I will ever sell. Michelle's style is incredibly elegant and in normal vintages so given the extra turbo boost of 2015 this wine had it all come together to create a wine of haunting complexity, depth, richness and ageability. It is drinking well NOW so this is a wine to enjoy with vigor while your other 2015 whites age. Her prices are amazing. For $45 this is just nuts wine. She did raise her prices and I lowered my margins to keep continuity. First let's start off with the nose. Sick with a capital S. Yes, I know I started the sentence with sick, but if I didn't it's still Sick, with a capital S. I think I scared Michelle with my enthusiasm for that wine. Aromas are so well defined and elegant. Yeah, elegant aromas. So refined. The palate is long and complex and has one of those 8 dimensional textures. It takes over your mouth like the black oil Alien from the X-Files. It gets to every nook and cranny of your palate and floods it with glycerin. Yet due to the conditions of the vintage (hot days, cool nights) you have insane freshness and great acidity to buffer and frame all that glycerin. The palate is so pure it is almost like a mountain spring water of Hermitage. There is a the most discreet and brilliant application of oak that adds so much. Michelle is brilliant when it comes to oak. Never ever too much, never too little, just right. So juicy. I mean super juicy. Flavors of grilled nuts and marzipan are dominant on the palate with brilliant minerality. So fresh, so pure. There is terroir footprint like no other. Wet earth. It's like raining in the glass. This is drinking so well right now but will age easy 10-15 years. Such purity.
2015 Luyton Hermitage Rouge - $47.99 ($179.96 4-pack)
2015 Luyton Hermitage Prestige Rouge - $59.99
($231.96 4-pack)
2015 Luyton Hermitage Blanc - $47.99 ($179.96 4-pack)
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