2019 L'Ermite Rouge Pinot Noir

Introducing the 2019 Vintage Release, The Apogee from Soliste

 Triptych of 2019 Single Barrel MonoClone^® Pinot Noirs

Single Vineyard, Single Clone, ONE Barrel...Soliste

 L'Ermite Rouge – Rarissime – Extravagant

2018 Was a Benchmark Growing Season. Until 2019.

We characterized the 2018 growing season as "near-perfect." It was a welcome break from drought, fire, and unpredictability. 2019 started with record-breaking rains in February and, over the season, up to 51 inches of groundwater replenishing precipitation. The vines properly rested thanks to persistent cold, wet conditions over winter. Bud-break was slightly delayed, helping to avoid early Spring frosts. A bit of late May rain caused minor shatter. August was largely fog-free, and an overall warmer growing season in comparison to the previous year. Harvest timing was unhurried, promoting more uniform flavor development and stem lignification essential for whole cluster vinification. We carefully monitored flavor development and acids, and as is our practice, used multiple picks to select specific blocks as they matured. Two near-perfect growing seasons...Sacre Bleu. 

Single Barrel Wines - Our Best of the Best

We sat down to taste our latest 2019 Vintage with great expectations. Three wines stood out immediately, and they were all Single Barrel MonoClone Pinot Noirs. In the history of Soliste, there have not been wines that have reached the highest degree of excellence of Cote De Nuits. These Three Pinot Noirs are simply stunning in all aspects: Nose, Aroma, Complexity, Fruit Concentration and Purity, Balance, Exotic, Sensual, Texture, and Length. This is clearly the result of the adjustments made over many, many vintages, precise barrel choice, and our commitment to Burgundian ancestral methods. It is an extremely rare moment to be experiencing such bliss in a glass, especially with the uncontrollable adversity of the effects of climate change. One can wait a lifetime, aspiring to one day, and after decades of vintages, one wine will stand out and give us what we always dreamt of…A Unicorn, and now they are Three. Is it the 2019 Vintage, is it the accumulation of knowledge, the barrel selection, or simply the slow and tedious journey during which our commitment and passion were unwavering?  

Each of these three wines epitomized why we love Pinot Noir. Of all the cépages, it is the most complex, exotic, cerebral, and enigmatic. And at times, perhaps showing its French roots, can be very frustrating and challenging. This is why we are both infatuated with and passionate about Pinot Noir, and why we care so deeply about our mission to craft the very best wines year after year. Selecting just one took much debate – and more than a glass or two. Suddenly, Claude announced, “These are so incroyable, instead of waiting and releasing them one at a time, let's showcase them together, and at once!” Sometimes the best decision is no decision at all. 

For these three stellar wines, my tasting notes will be more detailed as I tasted them over 4 days to experience their evolution and truly appreciate the metamorphosis and the depth they attained. This singular vintage represents all that Pinot Noir can achieve. 2019 has granted us precision, depth, exotic aromatics, and endless length to craft and select ONE barrel of three distinctive and singular Pinots from specific sites, terroir, and MonoClone. Each is aged for 18 months in a single barrel. The rewards are Pinot Noir’s intoxicating nose, powerful yet refined with layers of pure fruit density, spice, sous-bois, truffles, infinite length, and complex finish.  
 

These three One Barrel MonoClone wines are so uniquely different that we simply could not resist but to do ONE release for you to experience their individual character – Vive la différence! 

L’ERMITE ROUGE 2019…The Hedonist, and Etheral Pinot

2019 L'ERMITE ROUGE MonoClone Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Tasting Notes 

Le Regard / The Look
Deep Ruby and Garnet robe, crystalline gem brilliance with visible weight and texture supported by the 100% whole cluster press. Youthful vibrancy indicates great aging potential.

Le Nez / The Nose
The nose is intoxicating and exotic, showing graphite minerality, dusty rose petals, and violets, slightly muted at first compared to Rarissime. After a couple of swirls, the aromas are no longer shy: caramelized dark cherries, boysenberry, and red plums, interlaced with savory dry herbal tones, black pepper, pine needles, and violets. As the wine opens in the glass or decanter, the aromatics become more complex and earthy with cassis and plum compote scents spiked with leather, dried mushrooms, cedar, espresso, and cardamom. Superbly exotic in spice and floral tones, accented with graphite minerality.

Degustation / The Taste
The front palate delivers great energy of tart Montmorency cherries, raspberries, and lingonberries, with layers of exotic spices, violets, and licorice. This is a wine of deep character, very chiseled and linear, with a high pitch upper palate, very racy and fresh but with palpable fruit density. The second taste is pure raspberry liquor, boysenberry compote, and caramelized strawberry rhubarb gelee. The red fruits are harmoniously elevated with dried maple leaves, high floral tones, Kirsch, anise, violets, cedar wood, and a touch of leather, stemming from the 100% whole cluster press. The mid-palate is of bright fruit intensity and verve, almost raspy but dense with red fruits, layered with musty sous-bois, truffles, peppery plums, tea must, pine needles, and dry herbal aromatics, all in superb balance. The finish is all about elegance and a silky length that is elevated by tannin acidity, giving the wine energy and lift. The long Ermitage Cigar barrel aging polished the tannins from the whole clusters but left all the complexity and exotic vibrancy intact, creating a magical wine full of verve, grace, and length. Decanting is highly recommended. L’ Ermite Rouge just like the shy Hermit that is a recluse in his monastery once revealed will surprise as a most dynamic and complex wine, harnessing the knowledge of decades passed to create this Etheral Pinot…Soliste
 

2019 MonoClone^® Pinot Noir; Why it is important…MonoClone explained

Because of the devastating event of the 1860 Phylloxera that destroyed the vineyards of Europe (read more about Pinot Noir Clones and how they survived)