E. Guigal E. Guigal Hermitage 2018 750ml

This has a showy side, with expressive singed vanilla, alder and mocha notes leading the way, followed by plush plum and blackberry compote flavors. The finish pulls in warm earth and iron hints, adding cut and range. Drink now through 2032. 50 cases imported.

Moving to the Hermitage releases, the 2018 Hermitage is terrific, and readers will love to have bottles in the cellar. From a great vintage for the Northern Rhône, it has a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, yet wonderfully elegant profile as well as complex notes of darker fruits, pepper, cured meats, and leather. It gets spicier and more nuanced with time in the glass and already offers pleasure, yet it has the structure and balance to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 15+ years.

Opaque violet color. Highly perfumed aromas of ripe cherry, dark berry preserves, candied flowers, olive and smoky minerals. Juicy and broad in the mouth, offering spice-tinged bitter cherry, blackberry, licorice and fruitcake flavors that show fine clarity and turn sweeter as the wine opens up. Finishes on an emphatic floral note, displaying strong tenacity, steadily building tannin and reverberating dark berry and spice notes.