Hermitage is a

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Amer ...

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...

'' (AOC) in the northern Rhône wine region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

south of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

. It produces mostly red wine from the Syrah grape; however, small quantities of white wine are also produced from Roussane and

Marsanne Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...

grapes. The hill is seen by some as the spiritual home of the Syrah grape variety.

History

According to legend, the

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Gaspard de Stérimberg returned home wounded in 1224 from the Albigensian Crusade and was given permission by the Queen of France to build a small refuge to recover in, where he remained living as a hermit (''ermite'' in French). The chapel on top was built in honor of Saint Christopher and today is owned by the

negociant A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

Paul Jaboulet Âiné.

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

made the wine a wine of the court after being offered a glass during a visit to the region in 1642.

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

presented

King Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

with 200 casks of fine wine including examples from Hermitage,

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

and Burgundy. The

Romanovs The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...

also imported the wine. In the 19th century, wines from Bordeaux were often "hermitaged" (''hermitagé'', that is, blended with Hermitage) and could fetch higher prices as a result. The appellation was established in its modern form in 1937.

Geography

The

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

fans out from the town of

Tain l'Hermitage Tain-l'Hermitage (; oc, Tinh de l'Ermitatge or ), commonly known as Tain, is a commune in the French department of Drôme, southeastern France. Geography It is located on the left bank of the river Rhône, opposite Tournon-sur-Rhône, which is ...

. The vines grow on the south west side of a steep granite hill facing the afternoon sun and can be divided into a number of smaller vineyards. These are "''Les Bessards''" to the west, "''L'Hermite'' and "''La Chapelle'' on the top of the mountain, and "''Bessards''", "''Le Méal''", "''Les Greffieux''", and "''Murets''" to the east. With of vines, in soil composed greatly of granite and gravels, Hermitage produces 730,000 bottles of mostly red wines, annually.

Grape Varieties

Syrah is the primary red grape of Hermitage, mostly used on its own although the appellation rules do allow the addition of 15% or less of

and/or

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage ...

grapes. Hermitage reds tend toward being very earthy, with aromas of leather, red berries, earth, and cocoa/coffee. Because of the high levels of tannin they are usually aged longer than American or Australian Syrahs and are often cellared up to 40 years. Rich, dry white wines are also produced from a blend of

and

. These wines are also usually left to age, for up to 15 years. Vin de paille or ''Straw Wine'' is also produced in this region.

Notable Producers

The most notable producer of Hermitage is Domaine Jean-Louis Chave, whose estate can trace its origins back to 1481. Others of note include Chapoutier, Jaboulet, and Delas.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Cotes du Rhone wines Web Sites
Rhône wine AOCs 1930s establishments in France