2019 L'Ermitage Brut
The concept of the vintage L’Ermitage is the same one that is used in Champagne: only the best of the vintage is selected. These are exceptional wines that create a “noble” blend that allows for longer aging, which produces a fine wine with elegance and finesse. Vintage 2019 features aromas of quince paste and light pastry crust. The entry is bright and textured midpalate. A mouthwatering finish is highlighted by pear skin and an even, creamy texture.100 Points / Cellar Selection
If sunshine could be bottled it would be this. Aromas of fresh succulent stone fruit, a hint of yeast, citrus blossoms and notes of quince on the nose. The mousse is creamy and light with baked red apples, blood orange zest, white grapefruit, sticky caramel and layered salinity with a mouthwatering finish. It will bring a smile to your lips.
— Wine Enthusiast, Tonya Pitts, Aug. 202595 Points
The 2019 Brut L'Ermitage blends 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir, all estate grown from one growing season, with 3.9% Chardonnay from the 2016 vintage, and a dosage of 6 grams per liter. A complete, well-integrated, medium-bodied sparkling wine with a balance of fruit and savory notes, it offers flecks of oak spice and pastry crust. Textured and creamy in style, it has a lingering brightness on the finish and should age well over the next 10-15 years.
— JebDunnuck.com, Virginie Boone, February 202594 Points
Dynamic yet elegantly structured, with alluring flavors of Asian pear, baked apple, brioche, clove and nutmeg that build richness on the graceful finish.
— Wine Spectator, Tim Fish, February 202595 Points
L’Ermitage is not made every year, but when it is, it’s perhaps the most graceful sparkling wine made in California. It’s beautifully complex as well as refined. Layers of creamy notes are interspersed with a taut crispness. Purity and energy are woven together. The wine rests with its yeast lees for 4 years, and a small bit of oak-aged reserve wine is added at the end. It all adds up to a wine of great finesse.
— Karen MacNeil, September 202493 Points
When a house from the prestigious region of Champagne takes interest in making wine in the U.S., it’s a big deal. When the Roederer family arrived in California they headed north of the famed Napa and Sonoma to the cooler climate of Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. L’Ermitage is a special cuvée, made only in exceptional years. The wine has a river-rock minerality on the nose, with hints of sliced pear and vanilla bean. The palate is liquid gold with notes of roasted pear and cream and an elegant mouthfeel.
— VinePair, Keith Beavers, December 2024
100 Points
If sunshine could be bottled it would be this.