2009 CHAPOUTIER L'ERMITE Blanc 2009

 Nearly scary in its intensity and over-the-top liqueur of stones and minerals is the 2003 Ermitage l’Ermite blanc. I’ll keep my tasting notes brief as there are less than 60 cases of this extraordinary wine. It represents the essence of marmalade, citrus oil, white flowers, and minerals. This great dry white wine is undoubtedly 2-3 times more concentrated than the greatest Montrachets I have ever tasted.

 Captivating, with persimmon, dried mango, quince and Jonagold apple fruit aromas and flavors, all woven seamlessly together, while bracing quinine and salted butter notes add serious length to the finish. A sensational combination of power and precision. Best from 2016 through 2030. 

Deep honey gold. It would be fatal to taste these whites with this one first as, although the less dramatic bottlings seem fantastically concentrated, this one knocks one’s socks off. It reaches new levels of concentration. I can’t remember any white this exuberant and dense in previous vintages. There’s a nuttiness here, a vague whiff of manzanilla, but also an amazing amount of ripe fruit. Greengages perhaps. Something honeyed and explosive in the mouth. But again, the acid is balanced on a knife edge. Long and exotic. So full that it will be quite challenging to find a suitable food match for this.