Ermitage Le Meal Rouge, Maison M. Chapoutier 2000

The 2000 Ermitage Le Meal is better out of bottle than it was from cask. An opaque purple color is followed by a sumptuous nose of blackberry liqueur intermixed with ink, melted asphalt, camphor, and new saddle leather. Big, rich, broad, and expansive with a gorgeous texture as well as a 60-second finish, it is a full-bodied, opulent, surprisingly approachable offering. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025. These uncompromising offerings from a young genius are not meant for consumers who want something to drink immediately. They are the essence of bio-dynamically farmed vineyard sites cropped incredibly low, given extended fermentations with indigenous yeasts, and rarely touched until they go into the bottle unfined and unfiltered. In most vintages, the wines are not even racked off their lees, which only adds to their natural style. These are truly remarkable wines, but for most readers, patience is the operative rule as they generally need a good 8-10 years to strut their stuff.Once moribund, over the last 12 years, this firm has become one of the reference points for nearly all the Rhone Valley appellations since the brash yet immensely talented Michel Chapoutier took over in the late eighties. The single vineyard offerings are as good as Rhone Valley wines can be. Moreover, Chapoutier continues to upgrade the quality of those wines offered in more significant quantities than the 500 or so cases each of the single vineyard offerings.

Another wine drinking at maturity is the 2000 Ermitage le Meal. Offering up a fresh, nicely defined bouquet of dark fruits, gamy meats, pepper, mint and hints of olive, it's medium to full-bodied, nicely textured, supple and delicious. Like the 2001, it's drinking at point but should hold nicely for another decade.

In 2000, this cuvee fermented for six weeks prior to being racked into new oak. Like all of Chapoutier's top offerings, it is not racked in cask until it is bottled without fining or filtration. The 2000 Ermitage Le Meal smells of cassis and ink. It boasts power, concentration, texture, high tannin, lower acidity than the 1999, and a sweet creme de cassis-filled finish. No doubt its tannin level will reassert itself once the wine is bottled. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2045.

With respect to Chapoutier's red wines, 2000 was a very fine vintage. Interestingly, this offering revealed more fat and flesh than many of his northern Rhone peers.