[Excerpt from the introduction to…]
Hermitage
(Photographs: © Copyright Per Karlsson, BKWine.com)
What
an inspiration. If ever in your life you want to take your friend, your lover,
your child, or your favourite person to see a vineyard that converts them to the
pleasure of wine, then please go to Tain-l’Hermitage. Imbibe the utter majesty
of this hillside, from which a mighty spread of vines reaches for the sky, its
beautiful exposure soaking up nature’s efforts and whims. The sparkling, darting
glance of the setting sun across its top, or a full moon illuminating its high
outcrop, turns thoughts beyond its rich red wine; even a resister would be
seduced.
To
think I actually walked up the hill, through the vines and the gulleys, and
proposed to my wife here. As with the best feasts in life, I think it’s taken 30
years to realise just what a special, stirring place this is for a vineyard.
[…]
Hermitage Vineyards
The
Full Up sign applies to the Hermitage vineyards. The figure of 131 hectares
reflects the hectare and a half rooted out and planted during the 1990s by
Chapoutier and Paul Jaboulet, around La Chapelle. In the early 1970s, there were
123 hectares, so these advances have been eked out over time. The first increase
for many years occurred in 1984, when Gérard Chave cleared 2.5 hectares around
l’Hermite.
Oversupply
of Hermitage is anyway impossible because production is severely limited, both
by law and by the sheer physical layout of the famous hillside. Whereas the
vignerons of St Joseph and Côte Rôtie altered their appellation and size and
allocation by local rulings, both Hermitage and Cornas are restricted by
national legislation. This serves as an excellent quality control and acts to
avoid the sort of plateau expansion or riverside flatland cultivation that has
made some wines from Côte Rôtie or Saint Joseph unworthy of their price.
[…]
© Copyright John Livingstone-Learmont & University of California Press
Extract from the book:
The Wines of the Northern Rhône Valley
by John Livingstone-Learmont
University of California Press
En français
