Hermitage () is a

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of 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. French wine traces its history to th ...

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

south of

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. It produces mostly red wine from the

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

grape; however, small quantities of white wine are also produced from Roussane and Marsanne 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 a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

Gaspard de Stérimberg returned home wounded in 1224 from the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...

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 Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximin ...

and today is owned by the negociant 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 LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

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 King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

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, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

and

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. The Romanovs 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 used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

fans out from the town of Tain l'Hermitage. 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

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 Marsanne and/or

Roussanne Roussanne () is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...

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 Marsanne 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