1996 M. Chapoutier Ermitage le Pavillon
Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck
Issue Date 28th Sep 2016
Source Interim End of September 2016, The Wine Advocate
Rating 97 points
Release Price NA
Drink Date 2006 - 2036
A wine that just screams “Granite!” is the sensational 1996 Ermitage
le Pavillon, which comes all from the les Bessards lieu-dit on the
western side of Hermitage hill. As fine, seamless and layered as they
come, this beauty offers classic notes of powdered rocks, cassis,
graphite, burning embers and flowers. Full-bodied, concentrated and
massive on the palate, you can almost feel the rocky soils this wine
comes from on the palate, and it still, even at age 20, has loads of
mouth-coasting, sweet tannin emerging on the finish. It’s a tiny step
back from the mammoth 1995, yet is still an incredible wine that has
another two decades of prime drinking, and will keep even longer.