Wine Advisor
M. Chapoutier, Hermitage Monier De La Sizeranne 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
The 2016 Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne, Chapoutier's traditional bottling of blended parcels, is a sturdy, beefy offering built around notes of black olives and tar. This full-bodied wine is more about structure than finesse, so give it until 2025 to learn some manners.
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
Full-bodied and rich while at the same time silky smooth, the 2016 Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne is a fine effort that needs only a couple of years in the cellar. Pencil shavings and crushed stones frame cassis and black olive flavors, turning to charcoal notes on the long, softly dusty finish.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Bright violet. Highly perfumed black and blue fruit preserve, incense and baking spice aromas, along with hints of smoky minerals and olive paste. Silky, seamless and penetrating in the mouth, offering concentrated blackberry, boysenberry, violet pastille and spicecake flavors that become more energetic on the back half. Rich yet lively, finishing gently sweet and long, with harmonious tannins and repeating mineral and floral notes.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Opaque purple. Dark berries, olive paste, vanilla and a suggestion of licorice on the highly pungent, mineral-accented nose. Alluringly sweet blackberry and cherry compote flavors display excellent clarity and energy and pick up a suave floral pastille quality with aeration. Shows very good delineation, a surprisingly light touch and vibrant mineral lift on the persistent, youthfully tannic finish, which features lingering notes of bitter cherry and candied violet.
About the Producer
Founded in 1808, M. Chapoutier owns 175 hectares of vines in five appellations in the Rhone Valley and is now run by the energetic and brilliant Michel Chapoutier. Since Michel started running the estate, the quality of the winemaking has improved very quickly and the philosophy of winemaking has changed considerably. Michel Chapoutier's achievements caused an instant sensation in the winemaking world and he completely changed the way Chapoutier wines were made and the winemaking process, eventually making wines to rival those made by Marcel Guigal, one of the best winemakers in the Rhone Valley. The vineyards of Château Sapoutier range from the Rhone Valley to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with a number of quality vineyards planted with Syrah, Grenache, Marsanne, Roussanne and other major grape varieties. The winery is "mono-varietal" (i.e. making wines from a single variety), for example, all Syrah for the Châteauneuf-du-Rotie wines, all Marsanne for the Hermitage whites and all Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines. The wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape are all Grenache. Château Sapoutier has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of its wines, even though each single vineyard produces far more than the 500 cases of fine wine. Since 1989, Château Sapoutier has been using biodynamic farming and winemaking methods with the aim of producing wines that are the purest and closest to the natural terroir. Every decision, every step of the viticultural and winemaking process is designed to add to the terroir, varietal character and vintage identity of the wines. Only wild yeasts are used for fermentation and the wines are made in small oak barrels. The best red and white wines are not clarified or filtered before bottling.
