Delas Fréres Hermitage Les Bessards 2018

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate
Boasting classic Les Bessards notes of sun-warmed cassis and crushed stone, the 2018 Hermitage Les Bessards has turned out to be a magnificent wine - a close rival to the potentially perfect 2015. Full-bodied and velvety, concentrated and tannic, overflowing with notes of grilled plums, grilled meat and black olives, it's all topped off by a forever finish that remains fresh and cleansing, courtesy of lingering salted-licorice flavors and the texture of finely ground stone dust. Try a bottle after 2025, if you can wait that long.

Jeb Dunnuck
A stunning Hermitage in every sense, the 2018 Hermitage Les Bessards comes from the steep, broken granite soils of the Les Bessards lieu-dit on Hermitage Hill. Revealing a deep purple/violet color, it has a gorgeous nose of crème de cassis, scorched earth, violets, pepper, and a liquid rock-like minerality. It’s full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with background oak, flawless balance, ripe yet present tannins, and a great, great finish. It's not a massive Hermitage (especially by this cuvée’s standards in the past) yet has gorgeous purity of fruit and an incredible sense of class. Give bottles 4-5 years (it offers pleasure even today) and it should keep for 30+ years or more.

Vinous
Glass-staining ruby. Hugely perfumed, mineral-accented black and blue fruit preserves, floral oil, olive paste, pipe tobacco and exotic spice aromas show superb clarity and pick up a hint of smokiness with air. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering alluringly sweet kirsch, cassis, fruitcake and cola flavors that deepen slowly through the back half. Shows fine delineation and vibrant, mineral lift on an impressively long, chewy and floral-accented finish that's framed by steadily building tannins.

James Suckling
Some people will call this a blockbuster, but I disagree. The stunning nose of the ripest forest berries and raw meat sucks you into the extremely full-bodied and concentrated palate, where the powerful, fine tannins have been beautifully crafted and are already fully integrated at the very long, remarkably fresh finish for this very warm vintage. Drink or hold.

Delas Frères er et traditionsrigt vinhus med rødder tilbage til 1835, beliggende i hjertet af den nordlige Rhône-dal. Huset har gennem tiden opnået stor anerkendelse for sin kompromisløse tilgang til kvalitet og sit stærke fokus på at udtrykke områdets unikke terroir gennem sine vine.

Delas Frères ejer egne marker i nogle af Rhône-dalens mest prestigefyldte appellationer, herunder Hermitage, Cornas, Côte-Rôtie og Saint-Joseph. Her arbejdes der med stor præcision i vinmarkerne og med en dyb respekt for naturens rytme. Filosofien er at lade jordbund, druesort og årgang skinne igennem i vinene, uden at overdøve det naturlige udtryk med overdrevet fadbrug eller teknisk manipulation.

Produktionen foregår i moderne faciliteter i Tain-l’Hermitage, hvor æstetik og funktionalitet går hånd i hånd. Vinene bliver vinificeret parcelfor-parcel for at sikre, at hvert terroir udtrykkes så præcist som muligt. Syrah er den dominerende drue i de røde vine, mens Marsanne og Roussanne anvendes til hvidvinene.

Stilen hos Delas Frères kombinerer kraft og finesse. Vinene har typisk en tæt struktur, men samtidig en bemærkelsesværdig elegance og renhed i frugten. Huset producerer både klassiske cuvéer og enkeltmarksudtryk, hvor især topvinene fra Hermitage og Côte-Rôtie er blandt de mest eftertragtede i regionen.