2015 Hermitage Les Bessards
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Tasting notes
Made in only the best vintages from an exquisite plot in one of the world’s most famous vineyards, the Delas Hermitage Les Bessards is a wine of incredible pedigree. The signs were good that this was going to be something special given just how good this season was for the Northern Rhone. For Dunnuck it’s “a truly sensational vintage that should not be missed by any Rhône lover out there” with Hermitage in particular “producing a bevy of magical, legendary wines.” The Wine Advocate’s Czerwinski agrees, calling it “a year of formidable concentration and ripeness.” The best are absolute legends in the making and few will be better than this flagship bottling from Delas. To Czerwinski “It's breathtaking stuff, virtually guaranteed to bring a smile to any wine lover's face” while Dunnuck simply calls it “perfect Hermitage”. It’s a wine that no collection should be without, or indeed can contain too much of. Previous vintages of a similar quality are now extremely shallow in supply so my advice is get this in the cellar in quantity while still available.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The top cuvée from Delas is the 2015 Hermitage Les Bessards, and it's always 100% Syrah from the steep, broken granite soils of the Bessards lieu-dit. Aged 18 months in 30% new barrels, its purple/plum color is followed by a huge nose of blackcurrants, graphite, toasted spice, crushed rocks and saddle leather. Powerful, massively concentrated, and tannic, it has a broad, expansive, heavenly texture, a thick mid-palate (you could almost use a fork for this beauty), and a great finish. Despite the richness level, it stays balanced and graceful on the palate, and is never over the top or heavy. It's a perfect Hermitage that will start to shine with 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for three decades or more. Bravo!
With approximately 500 cases produced, the 2015 Hermitage les Bessards is probably among the most available of the vintage's top wines. Jump on it if your means allow, as I suspect this wine will be a candidate for perfection once it sheds some tannin. It's perfumed on the nose, concentrated on the palate and amazingly long yet also elegant from start to finish. And amid the power, oak and massive cassis and blackberry fruit, it also manages to include hints of crushed stone evocative of its granitic terroir. It's breathtaking stuff, virtually guaranteed to bring a smile to any wine lover's face.