Delas Frères Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes Blanc
Rhône, France
Vintage:2020 (Past)
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Reviews
Jeb Dunnuck
100 Points
August 11, 2022, Jeb Dunnuck
“I was absolutely blown away by the 2020 Hermitage Domaine Des Tourettes Blanc, a rich, powerful expression of Marsanne (there's 10% Roussanne as well) from the L'Ermite, le Sabot, and La Tourette lieux-dits, brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Revealing a vivid gold hue, it just about jumps out of the glass with its exotic nose of honeyed quince, acacia flowers, buttered pears, chalky minerality, spice, and licorice. The purity is off the charts, and it has full-bodied richness, a deep, plush, opulent mouthfeel, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. It's the finest vintage of this cuvée to date, and readers who love the richer, powerful style of Hermitage should do their best to snatch bottles up. I suspect the acidity is moderate, but it holds onto a riveting sense of freshness and has this liqueur of rock-like sensation on the finish, and it will stand toe to toe with anything out there. I would enjoy bottles over the coming 4-6 years or so and then, at that point, do my best to hold off until 2032 or after. Predicting drink windows for great Hermitage Blanc can be tricky, but this is worth buying multiple bottles and drinking in its youth, then taking a chance with a few in the cellar. There are roughly 400 cases made in each vintage.”
View From the Cellar
93 Points
August 2022, John Gilman
“The Maison Delas Frères’ 2020 Hermitage Blanc “Domaine des Tourettes” is a ripe wine in the style of this vintage, coming in at 14.5 percent octane. The white grapes for this bottling grow in the lieux à dits of l’Ermite, le Sabot and la Tourette on the hill of Hermitage. The cépages is ninety percent marsanne and ten percent roussanne, with the wine barrel-fermented and aged for nine months in cask prior to bottling, with the casks a combination of new, one or two years of age. The wine offers up a deep and complex nose of white peach, fresh pineapple, almond, a beautifully complex base of soil tones, acacia blossoms and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a great core of fruit, good framing acids, fine mineral drive and grip and a long, well-balanced and impressively precise finish that carries its alcohol beautifully and only shows a whisper of backend heat. This is a lovely bottle of Hermitage Blanc in the making.”
JamesSuckling.com
96 Points
March 2022, James Suckling
“Very striking nose of toasted almonds and pistachio nuts that’s still full of youthful energy, even if the stone-fruit character (mostly mirabelle) is discreet. So much underplayed power and beautiful candied-orange character on the ample yet precisely delineated palate. Then comes the stony finish that doesn’t want to stop. 100% from the marsanne grape. Drink or hold.”
Overview
The Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes is the first wine to be produced by Delas Frères exclusively from the 8.5 hectares that are farmed on the famous hill that overlooks the town of Tain. This wine replaced the Marquise de la Tourette cuvée starting with the 2009 vintage.
The Hermitage appellation is one of the greatest in the northern Rhône Valley. About 320 acres of vines cover the region’s steep slopes, which enjoy an excellent southern exposure. The sun warms the hill from dawn till dusk, and during the night the granitic soil radiates the day’s heat. Devoted primarily to the Syrah grape, the region also produces white wines that are grown where the topsoil has more clay content.
This cuvée is a blend from three different terroirs: L'Ermite, le Sabot and La Tourette, with an average production of around 5,000 bottles per year.
Winemaking
The harvest is carried out by hand in two stages. The juice is pressed by separating the free-run wine and the press wine. After a light racking, the must is put into barrel (new barrels, or used previously for one or two vintages) in order for the alcoholic fermentation to take place. With the aim of perserving the wine's freshness on the finish, malolactic fermentation is sometimes carried out only partially.
The wines are fermented in barrel for 9 to 12 months, on their lees, with the lees regularly stirred up. Two months before bottling the wine is blended, after which it is stelled and racked into a tank so that the different elements have time to become balanced and harmonious before going into bottle.
Tasting Notes
Pale yellow with green tints. The hue is bright with good density. On the nose the wine shows floral notes, underpinned by candied citrus fruit fragrances. These are complimented by fine oaky notes, such as vanilla and toasted brioche. Its powerful character shows on the palate. Concentrated and opulent, with a perfectly balanced structure, this Hermitage has beautiful freshness and a good mineral character, giving it great aromatic length.
Food Pairing
This wine pairs well with cheese, white meats such as chicken with morilles mushrooms or quail with truffles, as well as fish such as grilled sea bass with citrus fruit.
Technical Information
Varietals: 95% Marsanne, 5% Roussanne
Aging: 9 to 12 months in barrel with regular stirring of the lees