Hermitage

A single hill with a south facing slope is all that makes up Hermitage, the most famous appellation of the Northern Rhone. The full bodied, long lived Syrahs produced from Hermitage’s granite-based soils have been highly sought after since the 18^th Century, when Thomas Jefferson was an enthusiast, and the wines produced here were known even in Roman times. Increasingly, Hermitage’s whites, made from Marsanne and Roussanne, are just as coveted. The hillside is divided into a number of climats, which vary in the composition of their topsoil overlaying the granite, and the vines occupying these different sections produce wines of different character, from powerful and concentrated to elegant and aromatic.