Hermitage Ex Voto Blanc Guigal 2012 (750ML)

Marsanne makes up 90% of Guigal's 2012 Hermitage Ex Voto Blanc, with Roussanne adding the remaining 10%. The fruit comes 90% from Murets, a site of fluvio-glacial alluvium and pebbles, and 10% from Hermite, with its loess and clay-sand silt; half the vines are 100 years old and the other half 50. Compared with Guigal's regular Hermitage Blanc, it gives away less on the nose, keeping its energy in reserve behind firm acidity. Yellow-gold in color, it shows ripe citrus, stone fruit and strong floral notes, then a dense palate of nectarine and poached pear that takes on a hint of iodine as it opens. The weight is considerable but carried gracefully, and the close brings honey, crystallized petals and a smoky, stony note. Critics put its best drinking through 2027. At the table, look to butter-poached lobster, turbot in beurre blanc or poularde with morels.