2006 Ermitage Ex-voto rouge Guigal

The Hermitage appellation has only 110 hectares of vineyards. Put another way, several individual châteaux in Bordeaux have more vineyards than the entire Hermitage appellation can muster. That's why it's incredibly difficult to get hold of the best vineyards, and Guigal only succeeded when he bought the two domaines of De Vallouit and Grippat in the early 2000s. This gave him control of a number of plots in the best vineyards, including the fabled Muret, Hermite, Bessards and Greffieux. This was the fulfilment of a great dream for Guigal, and he consequently named the wine "EX-VOTO". Ex Voto is Latin for votive picture or votive tablet, i.e. a picture or tablet set up in thanksgiving for the fulfilment of a wish or prayer. Such votives are often seen hanging in churches. Hermitage Ex-Voto is Guigal's "votive picture" in thanks for his great wish to become the owner of Hermitage vineyards. Starting with the 2001 vintage, Guigal makes a white and red Ermitage Ex-Voto, based exclusively on grapes from the best plots, namely Murets (90%) and Hermite (10%) for the Hermitage Blanc; Bessards (30%), Greffieux (30%), Hermite (20%) and Murets (20%) for the red. Ex-Voto is made in very limited quantities and is only offered to a handful of importers in the world, including Philipson Wine. Ex-Voto is a dramatic Hermitage, on a par with Guigal's legendary La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque. An inky black wine with a sumptuous richness of complexly composed fruit and mineral undertones. The concentration and length of the flavour are exceptional.