A selection of fruit from three separate parcels in Hermitage: ‘Les Plantiers’ (also known as ‘Le Vignon’), sandy and stony; ‘Les Greffieux,’ with glacial stones and clay; and ‘Les Bessards,’ south-facing and rich in granite. A portion of ‘Bessards’ was planted between 1910 and 1915. Hand-harvested. Partially destemmed (70%) and fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks. Aged for two years in older French oak barrels (four- to five-year old barrels). Unfined and unfiltered. Aromas of black cherry, light toast, ripe blackberry. Full-bodied and fresh, great energy and length. Finishes with herbal notes and dark chocolate; grippy yet fine-grained tannins. Red meat or autumn stews; aged French cheeses

The Sorrel family first set root in Hermitage in 1893, when estate founder Félix Alexandre Sorrel purchased land in ‘Les Bessards.’ Today, the family’s third generation of winemakers—indeed, three Sorrel brothers (Jacques, Jean-Michel and Bruno, or JMB)—tend the family’s modest six acres of land, crafting but a handful of bottles each vintage. Plowing by horse, picking by hand, aging in older barrels; here the traditions of Hermitage are as alive and treasured as they were centuries ago. The brothers’ Hermitage wines are stately yet supple, utterly refined in aroma and texture and crucially, wonderfully long-lived.