2016 Bernard Faurie, Hermitage, Greffieux-Bessard

Fresh and slatey from the Bessards side, but with ripe blackberries and deep fruits from Le Méal. Medium to full-bodied, thicker than his straight Bessards, with more abundant ripe tannin. It's dense for Faurie, but still a lighter, more elegant style of Hermitage compared to other producers. It finishes dry, firm and mineral. Perfectly balanced.

(red capsule) Brilliant violet. Mineral-accented blackberry and blueberry on the deeply perfumed nose; exotic spice and floral notes add complexity. Densely packed but energetic dark fruit preserve flavors show smoky bacon and candied violet accents and pick up a spicecake quality with air. Stains the palate and shows superb concentration with no excess weight. Finishes with bright mineral cut, slow-building tannins and superb persistence.

The 2016 Hermitage Bessards is much more structured and mineral-laced which, if you’ve ever seen this awesome hillside of broken granite, makes perfect sense. Liquid rocks, graphite, cracked pepper, new saddle leather, and vibrant crème de cassis notes all flow to a powerful, tannic Hermitage that’s for those with patience and cold cellars. You’ll be hard pressed to find more pure, classic, old school Hermitage than those from Bernard Faurie, who has a tiny cellar just outside of Tournon. A fifth-generation winemaker, Faurie owns vines in three different lieux-dits on Hermitage: Bessards, Gréffieux, and Méal, from which he makes several different cuvées. The wines are not destemmed and are brought up mostly in used barrels. These are singular wines and marry a rare sense of power and elegance that’s not readily found elsewhere. Unfortunately, the wines are made in minuscule quantities and are difficult to find, but life is too short not to try the wines of this Hermitage genius!

Griffieux-Bessards. May or may not be bottled separately. Cask sample. Funky, stemmy nose with lovely vegetal notes and a fresh soy-sauce flavour. Concentrated blackcurrant fruit. Reasonably delicate for Hermitage. Fresh, floral, lengthy finish. (RH)