Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage la Maison Bleue 2019 (750ML)

95 WA / 95 VM / 93 JD / 93 JS / 16.5 JR

A superb Maison Bleue, the 2019 Hermitage La Maison Bleue seamlessly blends cherries and cassis into a purple mashup of fruit carried on rich, velvety waves of texture. Full-bodied and intense, it finishes complex and savory, adding notes of olive, clove and cedar on the long, luxurious finish. Already approachable, it should drink well through 2040. --Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate

Inky violet color. Heady, smoke- and spice-tinged cherry, blueberry, peony and incense aromas show excellent clarity; mineral and cured meat notes build with aeration. Juicy and energetic, especially in the context of the year, offering sweet red and blue fruit preserves, exotic spice flavors and a suave floral top note. Shows real energy on the seamless, strikingly long and floral-accented finish, which is firmed by well-integrated tannins.-Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

The 2019 Hermitage La Maison Bleue showed well, with impressive notes of ripe black fruits, iron, leather, and hints of camphor in a medium to full-bodied, fine, elegant profile. It’s well made and will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and evolve for 15+. --Jeb Dunnuck

Plenty of cloves and dried flowers with dark fruit, such as raspberries and blackberries. Some black truffle, too. Full-bodied with baked chocolate-pie and dark-fruit flavors. Full and warm at the end. Big, juicy wine. Give it a few years to come together. Drink from 2023. --James Suckling

Liquorice, tar, dark berries. Such sweet fruit! Forceful, youthful, potent. The nose has headiness and fumes. There is complexity too, and it's very open for such a young Hermitage. Finishes with violet perfume. - Jancis Robinson