"the 2018 Ermitage comes from the more eastern side of the appellation and is brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Dense purple-hued, with powerful notes of smoked red and black fruits, burning embers, violets, spice, and leather, it has classic Hermitage focus, minerality, and structure on the palate. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it needs 5-7 years of bottle age to hit maturity but is going to have 25-30 years of overall longevity." 95+pts Jeb Dunnuck Nov 2020