2001 Hermitage Le Gréal

Sorrel told me he was the last to pick in Hermitage in 2003. He says he benefited from 80 millimeters of rain on August 27 and 28, which started the sap moving again, then waited until September 3 to begin picking. "The rain brought a slightly larger crop and greater phenolic maturity," he told me. Sorrel carried out his normal vinification, but was able to use less SO2 due to the high alcohol and huge material of the vintage. He told me that in order to preserve acidity he did not destem; nor did he acidify his musts. Sorrel describes his 2003s as atypical, with the white wines even more outside the norm. I have included below a note on Sorrel's superb 2001 Hermitage Le Greal, which I did not have the chance to taste last fall in New York. (Cynthia Hurley Wine Imports, West Newton, MA; World Shippers, Philadelphia, PA; and World Wine Import, Atlanta, GA)

Vintage 2001 is all about power for the whitex000D wines, and like '98 for the reds, but a more elegant version," Sorrel toldx000D me in November. His 2001 Hermitage Lex000D Greal is another superb, classic Hermitage in the making. Sorrel's 2001 reds were about to be rackedx000D and assembled, and were scheduled to be bottled in April through July ofx000D 2003. (Cynthia Hurley Wine Imports,x000D West Newton, MA; World Shippers, Philadelphia, PA; and World Wine Import,x000D Atlanta, GA)