美味しいワインと出会う旅

エルミタージュ　ド・ロレ　ブラン［2005］シャプティエ（白ワイン）［S］

今回日本リカーさんの協力もあって超弩級ワインの「セレクション・パーセレール」を一気に飲み比べました。人数が集まらず久々に大赤字のワイン会になりましたが、実に興味深いワイン会でした。

葡萄と言う果物が持つある種の極限の世界を見た気がしました。

先ずはPPポイント98点のエルミタージュ・ドゥ・ロレを開けました。畑は上の写真の右側に黄色く線した場所です。白ワインしか作られていません。

乾いた干草の香り、強いオイル的な香り、干したアンズ、色は少しブロンズ色的な独特な小金色、口に含むと凄い凝縮感・・・ミネラルとかを超えています。ドスの効いたワインですね。50年経っても飲めそうなパワーを感じます。どうやって葡萄からこの様な大地の力を引き出すのか・・・

販売店資料より

平均60～70年の樹齢のマルサンヌ100％で造られる高級なキュヴェです。1haあたり10～15ｈｌの非常に低い収量で造られます。ドゥ・ロレの畑はル・メールの斜面にあり、その土壌は非常に古い河川や氷河の沖積層からなっています。充分に熟した果実を手摘みにて収穫し、葡萄の房全体を圧搾します。沈殿による清澄は液温を下げて重力により24時間かけて行います。全体の50％は新樽にて発酵させ、残りは大樽で発酵させます。

2005 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l'Oree

Wine Advocate #175
Feb 2008 Robert Parker 98 Drink: 2008 - 2013 $135-$200 (150)
Chapoutier's line-up of single vineyard white Ermitages, all from mid- to upper slopes of that small appellation, are prodigious wines. I have been following them since he first introduced L'Oree in 1991, and they are sensational to drink in their first 4-5 years, then seem to go into a rather bizarre oxidized stage that can last for 7-8 years, and then they re-emerge as something even more complex. The one thing I never understand is how the color sometimes actually lightens as they age, which makes no sense to me whatsoever, although I suspect there must be some scientific explanation. The 2005 Ermitage Cuvee de l'Oree is a spectacular wine, with notes of nectarine, quince, honeyed hazelnuts, honeysuckle, and an almost exotic note buttressed by excellent acidity and no notice of any oak. The wine has prodigious richness and a full-bodied intensity that needs to be tasted to be believed. This is stunning stuff that should drink well for 50 or more years, but you can drink it over the next 4-5 years or forget it for 12-15. My aging curve on all of these single-vineyard wines is pretty much the same, and these are very strong vintages with higher acidity than 2005.

With twenty vintages under his belt, Michel Chapoutier and his impressive winemaking staff go from strength to strength. These are among the world's greatest wines, especially the single vineyard wines, many of which will last 50 or more years. Chapoutier thinks 2006 is one of the very finest vintages in the northern Rhone for white wines (and I don't see any reason to disagree). The naturally high acidity and a summer season with no brutal heat waves allowed the wines to maintain their acidity while at the same time gaining flavor intensity. I have always had the feeling that despite his prodigious ability to make profound red wines, Michel Chapoutier gets a greater thrill from his white wine portfolio than from his impressive reds. . The single vineyard wines from Chapoutier are wines of super concentration, and are made from what are historically tiny yields. Along with Chaves' white Hermitage and a handful of other Rhone whites, these are potentially the longest-lived and most profound whites being produced there. From the granite hillsides of St.-Joseph, Michel Chapoutier makes by far the appellation's finest white, and one might argue, red as well.

Wine Advocate #170
Apr 2007 Robert Parker (98-100) Drink: 2007 - 2057 $135-$200 (150)
An amazing effort is the 2005 Ermitage Cuvee de l'Oree. This should flirt with perfection given its nose of white peach liqueur intermixed with quince, acacia flower, hazelnut, and honeysuckle. This amazingly full-bodied, powerful wine has zesty acidity and a tannic structure which is exquisite. It will be a 50+-year wine.