Alcohol: 14%
Grape(s): 80% Marsanne, 20% Roussanne
Localization: Hermitage, Rhone Valley, France
Tasting Notes: This is a somewhat hedonistic glassful, rich ripe fruit allied to delicate toasted notes and hints of warm, caramelised pastry. Something of a rarity, rather decadent, this is a sophisticated, thought-provoking, special occasion wine, best decanted.
97 points Jeb Dunnuck: Classic notes of quince, crushed stone, honeysuckle, toasted bread, marzipan, and white flowers emerge from the 2019 Hermitage Blanc, a rich, full-bodied white with a dense mid-palate, flawless balance, and a great finish. This is head-turning stuff with some up-front approachability, yet its tight, backward, concentrated core of fruit suggests that 2–3 years of bottle age are warranted, and it will keep for 30 years or more.
The Domain: Nothing predestined Michel Tardieu to be part of the greatest name from Rhone Valley unless his passion for wine, terroirs, and people…
State employee, he used, in his free time, to cross the vineyard from Rhone Valley and elsewhere. Passion pushing, he decided in 1996 to create Tardieu – Laurent in Lourmarin, in the heart of his native Provence.
Since Michel dedicates his time to selecting the greatest parcels and the best grapes to master them through rigorous but respectful aging methods, with sharpness and delicacy, to please wine’s “amateurs”.
Michel loved to serve some drops of great wine in the children's glasses at Sunday lunch. Imagine his happiness to have them working with him 20 years after to select, share, blend, age, and give birth to great wines dedicated to Rhone Valley’s lovers.
