2003 Hermitage

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)