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Hermitage Bessards, Delas Frères 2005

RegionRhône
Subregion France > Rhône > Northern Rhône > Hermitage
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietySyrah

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Tasting Notes

The top cuvee of the house (but with the production limited to approximately 500 or so cases) is the Hermitage Les Bessards, only made in the best vintages. The 2005 Hermitage Les Bessards is a brilliant, brilliant wine. Opaque bluish purple to the rim with a nose of graphite, spring flowers, creme de cassis, and blueberry, the wine is super-rich, full-bodied, with frightening levels of concentration as well as tannin and good acidity. This is a long-term prospect, and anyone not willing to invest a decade of cellaring should just forget about it. This is a wine that will last 50-60+ years, and not be approachable for at least a decade, and that may be optimistic. Nevertheless, this is extraordinary stuff for those with 19th century palates. The very talented Burgundian Jacques Granges continues to build on the success he has had at Delas Freres. He, along with the new owners, the Deutz-Roederer Champagne empire (they recently acquired Pichon-Lalande in Pauillac as well), have been responsible for the resurrection of Delas from a so-so negociant to one of the better sources of top-quality Rhones. And this has been done in less than a decade. 2004 is a classic vintage of structure and good balance, but too often lacking concentration. The 2005s are much more concentrated but also structured, tannic, and backward.

94/96
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (170), April 2007

A wine that needs to be left alone for another 4-5 years is the 2005 Hermitage Les Bessards. As with the Cote Rotie La Landonne, I tasted this earlier in the year and it showed similar this go around as well. Massive, tannic, concentrated and backwards, with tons of graphite, crushed rock and smoked meats, it has full-bodied richness, massive tannin and a big finish. I worry a smidge about the overall tannin level/balance here, but I’m still convinced that this wine’s best days lie ahead.

95+
Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate (223), March 2016
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.