Wine Advisor
Delas, Hermitage Les Bessards 2019
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Opaque ruby-red. A highly perfumed and expansive bouquet evokes dark berry and cherry preserves, Indian spices, olive and incense; a smoky mineral nuance emerges as the wine opens up. Fleshy and broad on the palate but surprisingly energetic as well, offering intense, mineral-driven black raspberry, boysenberry, kirsch, allspice and licorice flavors, with a suave touch of candied flowers. Finishes chewy, vibrant and impressively long, with resonating florality and youthfully firm tannins that don't detract from the wine's intense fruit.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Ripe, spice-accented dark berry liqueur, candied violet, incense and licorice scents, along with hints of olive paste and smoky, exotic spices. Palate-staining boysenberry, cherry liqueur, floral pastille and fruitcake flavors show impressive depth and an undercurrent of smoky minerality. Expands steadily with air and finishes extremely long and minerally, with youthfully chewy tannins and outstanding, floral-driven persistence.
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
While the 2019 Hermitage Les Bessards features classic notes of crushed stone and cassis on the nose and is nicely medium to full-bodied on the palate, it doesn't show the impressive richness and texture of either the 2018 or 2020. Black olives and dark berries are borne on a creamy palate, and the finish is silky and licorice tinged. Perhaps it was just at an awkward stage post-bottling, as it did seem to improve dramatically with air. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.
About the Producer
The famous Drass Frère wine company was founded in 1835. Since 1996, the spirit and soul that contributed to the reputation of quality wines has been restored. At present, the Dras brothers have a total of 30 hectares of vineyards, 10 of which are in the Emmettage-Hermitage appellation, 2 in Saint-Joseph and the remaining 18 in Croze-Hermitage. The steep granite hillsides provide favourable growing conditions for the vineyards of the Hermitage appellation, which produces the best quality wines. The grapes are hand-harvested and the fruit is intact and not prone to premature crushing, and in 1996 the estate was renovated by replacing all the old stainless steel fermentation vats with 85 litre concrete vats, and the 2,500 litre old oak barrels were replaced by 600 Burgundy oak barrels. The renovation of the equipment has allowed the winery to separate the fermentation of different batches of grapes, set the fermentation temperature according to the needs of the different varieties, and to monitor them in a targeted manner. The winery uses the gravity artesian method in the vinification process, where the fruit is crushed and poured by gravity into the fermentation vats. After fermentation and pressing, the wine is decanted into oak barrels where malolactic fermentation takes place. The main grape variety is Syrah, but the estate also produces some white wines, mainly made from Marsanne and Viognier. The wines of the Delas Brothers include Domaine des Tourettes, Les Bessards, Seigneur de Maugiron and Francois de Tournon. Francois de Tournon, among others.
