"Opaque ruby. Powerful, smoke- and spice-accented black and blue fruit, exotic spice, olive, cured tobacco, cured bacon and violet aromas show superb clarity and a bright mineral top note. Deeply concentrated and broad on the palate, offering sappy, alluringly sweet cherry, blackcurrant, fruitcake, salty olive and violet pastille flavors plus hints of licorice and allspice. The wonderfully long, penetrating finish features resonating mineral, spice and floral notes and chewy tannins that build steadily."
Robert Parker
RP99
"Chave's 2018 Hermitage is another in a long list of legends to emerge from this meticulously run estate. Showing remarkably complex aromas of pressed violets, ground cloves and cracked peppercorns against a backdrop of cassis, blueberries and licorice, it's a super effort. Full-bodied, concentrated, rich and velvety in feel, it's seamless and long—just the complete package in a wine that's surprisingly approachable, yet should prove capable of aging effortlessly for two decades or more."
Decanter
D96
"A tasting of five lieux-dits points to a ripe, rich, dark-fruited vintage with high but not unbalanced alcohol. This is opulent with liqueur fruits and deep concentration. It's very ripe, but shows no raisined or jammy character, and has remarkably freshness considering its opulence. 2018 is all about ripeness, says Jean-Louis Chave. Picking the fruit promptly was important; ‘We had to pick on a Sunday - and we've never picked on a Sunday before.’ He reduced the maceration time this year and avoided punching down completely to avoid over-extraction." -Matt Walls
Wine Spectator
WS97
"Gorgeously pure, with flavors of plum coulis, cassis, cherry puree and blackberry preserves that are finely detailed and interwoven with singed anise, sweet tobacco and warm earth accents, then gilded with a subtle alder note through the finish. Long, very fine-grained and extremely precise."