WINEMAKER’S NOTES:
Le Méal, a broader swath of the Hermitage hill at a slightly higher elevation (150-200 meters) faces slightly more easterly. It is composed of chalk and alluvial gravelly soil rather than granite, and produces a wine of greater perfume, whether red (Syrah) or white (Marsanne). Again, the small production from a 1.37 hectare site of vines, close to one century old, is reserved for Sélection Parcellaire labeling, up to 550 cases for the red and 300 of the rare white. Again, destemming and long macerations are the keys to suppleness and grace even as a young wine, though long cellaring will reward the patient taster. Le Méal holds its official “name place” from the old French word meaning “the best.”
Brilliant golden yellow; intense, very mineral, celery overtones, with a slight, well-integrated hint of wood. Ample and well-rounded body, with fine exotic freshness, and roasted almond notes.
