Hermitage 2022: Report and top-scoring wines
There were some true standouts from Hermitage in 2022 for both white and red, despite extreme drought and heat, although many will be for fairly early drinking.
It’s an unusual style of red Hermitage this year: smaller in structure and stature than a usual year. Again, as with other appellations, it’s primarily down to problems with ripening – Guillaume Sorrel said it didn’t rain at all on the hill of Hermitage in June, July or August, and Maxime Chapoutier remembers the mercury hitting 40 ̊C as early as June.
Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for top-scoring Hermitage 2022 wines
See all 400 Rhône 2022 tasting notes and scores
Rhône 2022 full vintage report and top-scoring wines
Northern Rhône 2022: Full report and top-scoring wines
When balanced, the wines are charming, approachable and fairly fresh. The best will build complexity over time, but most will be at their peak when fairly young, about the 10-14 year mark. Soils with more clay such as Le Méal supplied wines with depth and intensity, but that Hermitage grandeur isn’t always present in 2022.
Individual appellation analysis on:
Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu | St-Joseph | Cornas & St-Péray | Crozes-Hermitage
‘It was a bit more difficult for whites as they don’t like drought,’ says Jean-Louis Chave. In contrast to the reds, the whites are often very concentrated and powerful, sometimes with confit notes like dried pear. It’s not always the most elegant vintage for white Hermitage, but the best are majestic, unmistakably Hermitage, and will be very long-lived.
Rhône 2022 score tables:
All top Rhône 2022 score table
Top-scoring southern Rhône 2022
Top-scoring northern Rhône 2022
Top-scoring Rhône 2022 red wines
Top-scoring Rhône 2022 white wines
Hermitage 2022 key producers:
- Domaine JL Chave
- Domaine Laurent Fayolle
- Domaine Marc Sorrel
- E Guigal
- M Chapoutier
Hermitage 2022 top value wines:
- Cave de Tain, Hermitage Blanc 2022
- Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Les Diognières, Hermitage Blanc 2022
- Domaine du Colombier, Hermitage Rouge 2022
Matt Walls’ top-scoring Hermitage 2022 wines:
The wines below scored 92 points and above, and are listed white then red in score order.
Related articles:
Walls: Get to know the 20 lieux-dits of Hermitage
Walls: Tasting Hermitage 2001 20 years on
Getting to know white Hermitage
M Chapoutier, Le Méal Blanc, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Decidedly rich in style, the oak is quite marked, with roasted pineapple notes, lemon verbena and lemon thyme. Very full-bodied, this is massive, assertive and powerful, but with great freshness and energy. Flinty, smoky elements and a long, salty, mineral finish. One for the ages. Pure Marsanne, vines are over 50 years old, planted on pebbles, clay and some loess, facing south. Whole-bunch pressed, half fermented in demi-muids, half in vats.
2022
M ChapoutierHermitage
M Chapoutier, L'Ermite Blanc, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Surprisingly full-bodied for L'Ermite, richer in body than a classic vintage. This is precise and fine, with notes of lemon verbena and struck flint. Reductive now, so give it time, but there's great drive and focus. Unusually high acidity (3.2-3.3 pH) which is rare for Marsanne. From east-facing vineyards situated around the chapel, which are the only white vineyards on the granitic part of Hermitage, other than Dard & Ribo's plots.
2022
M ChapoutierHermitage
M Chapoutier, De l'Orée, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
This has the characteristic breadth and fat of De l'Orée, with a surprisingly bright and piercing acidic line. Rich, ripe mango, with a touch of pineapple, the alcohol and oak are both surprisingly well balanced for a vintage like 2022. Not the most mineral or fine perhaps, but very good. From 60-year-old vines in the lieu-dit Les Murets at the top of the hill on heavy, water-retaining soils.
2022
M ChapoutierHermitage
Domaine JL Chave, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
The plots of Péléat and Rocoules were a little richer than a typical year, with relatively low acidity, while Ermite had a honeysuckle florality and a little more flesh than usual. Rich, dense and mighty, it is the opposite in style to the fine, fresh 2021. Picking started on 23 August in 2022. A tasting of the different plots was instructive, but the wines had been moved from barrel to tank the day before, so the score is a guide only.
2022
Domaine JL ChaveHermitage
Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Les Diognières, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Beautifully expressive already, full-bodied, rich and opulent, with a touch of mille-feuille pastry and poached pear on the finish. Well balanced and long, the alcohol is present but in check, as is the oak. I would drink this young as it has a wonderfully drinkable side to it that others lack in 2022. From a 0.18ha plot of 70-year-old Marsanne at the foot of the Hermitage slope. Malolactic completed.
2022
Domaine Laurent FayolleHermitage
Domaine Marc Sorrel, Les Rocoules, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Very old school, almost Baroque nose, with dried mango and dried pear. Full-bodied, powerful and concentrated, the acidity is well balanced, the finish very long. A touch of hay and barley sugar, there are already some quite mature confit aromas. The alcohol feels slightly raised, but this is nonetheless an impressive Hermitage, one that favours grandeur over finesse. Malolactic completed, no fining and no filtration, then 18 months in oak.
2022
Domaine Marc SorrelHermitage
Tardieu-Laurent, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Ripe, open and expressive, with honeyed mango and honeysuckle. Very full-bodied and creamy in texture, smooth like puréed mango. A rich, opulent style, with balanced acidity and well-integrated oak, making for an impressive, grand wine. From lieux-dits Les Pierrelles, Les Beaumes, Les Murets and La Croix. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrels (new and one-year-old), where the wine spends one year, followed by a further year in Stockinger foudres.
2022
Tardieu-LaurentHermitage
Cave de Tain, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Precise, citrussy aromas, then a full-bodied palate showing mango and pear. Acidity is quite low, but the amount of dry extract makes up for it, creating a powerful, rich style. The oak, while liberal, is well integrated and doesn't overwhelm the fruit. Aged in barrel, 30% new, the rest one or two years old.
2022
Cave de TainHermitage
Delas Frères, Domaine des Tourettes, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Crème pâtissière on the nose, very creamy and rich. Full-bodied, rich and opulent on the palate too, the oak is generously applied, the acidity quite low, but the general effect feels quite authentic. Good length, and a silky, almost oily texture. Lots to enjoy here, in a very luxurious, rich style.
2022
Delas FrèresHermitage
Domaine Marc Sorrel, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Dried pear aromas that are quite discreet for now. Full-bodied, powerful, opulent and rich, the alcohol feels quite prominent, but there's plenty of extract and flavour, with a strongly saline finish. Oak is well integrated. Quite a mighty style.
2022
Domaine Marc SorrelHermitage
Cave de Tain, Epsilon Origine, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Very full-bodied and broad on the palate. A big, slow moving wine, with balanced acidity and an inner freshness that help to keep it vibrant and drinkable. Immensely rich in glycerol, however, so be prepared for a massive wine. Spends 10 months in 400-litre barrels, one third new.
2022
Cave de TainHermitage
Domaine JL Chave, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
A tasting of the different lieux-dits showed how the different soil types reacted to the drought. Granite-based parcels (Ermite, Les Bessards) suffered blockages in ripening and finished at 13% alcohol; the clay-based terroirs (Le Méal, Les Beaumes) didn't stop ripening and finished at 15%. The overall blend will be powerful but fragrant, complex and stylistically sits within other recent dry and hot vintages, and isn't outside the current norm (it's nothing like the similarly extreme 2003). Picking started at the end of August.
2022
Domaine JL ChaveHermitage
M Chapoutier, L'Ermite, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Smoke, flint and petrichor notes – very L’Ermite. Remarkably round and full for L'Ermite considering the fairly low alcohol. Intense, zingy acidity and great mineral drive. A crunchy, mineral and long finish, with enjoyably angular tannins. Huge energy and verve, undulating like a soundwave. Almost a caricature of L'Ermite, and will last for decades.
2022
M ChapoutierHermitage
E Guigal, Ex Voto, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Exuberant, the fruit really jumps out of the glass before the oak. Star anise, incense, very full-bodied but fresh and powerfully fruited. It's swallowed its oak particularly well so far, though it's only at the start of its long barrel maturation. Good tension, concentration and intensity, this appears to be a particularly fine vintage of Ex Voto.
2022
E GuigalHermitage
M Chapoutier, Le Méal, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
High-toned, remarkably smooth, full-bodied and concentrated with marked acidity. Tannins are blocky and robust, but certainly ripe. Actually very elegant in fruit, with remarkable depth, power and freshness and a long finish, which is impressive considering the vintage conditions. Vines are around 50 years old, fermented in concrete, aged in recently used oak barrels for around 14 months.
2022
M ChapoutierHermitage
Domaine Marc Sorrel, Le Gréal, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Darkly coloured. Wonderful nose – very Hermitage in its meaty, smoky, roasted notes. Surprisingly fresh and lively for such a hot and dry vintage. Powerful, with quite marked acidity and robust, slightly fibrous tannins that will take time to soften. The finish is long with great vitality, this is a very genuine, authentic Hermitage and doesn't even feel like it comes from a hot vintage. There is a slight green note to the tannins, which arguably aren't as elegant as in some years, but it's a wine that speaks strongly of terroir. From lieux-dits Le Méal and Les Greffieux. 7% Marsanne and Roussanne coplanted with the Syrah in Le Méal.
2022
Domaine Marc SorrelHermitage
M Chapoutier, Le Pavillon, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Plum and damson compote, star anise and soy on the nose. This is fresh and lithe, with marked acidity and a great explosion of flavour; bright as a meteor. Not as long as some vintages on the finish, but certainly makes an impression. The pH is at 3.6 naturally through concentration, and nearly 14% alcohol. Remarkably athletic in acid and tannin for a 2022. From lieu-dit Les Bessards.
2022
M ChapoutierHermitage
Domaine Marc Sorrel, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
The whole-bunch element is quite marked on the nose currently, and there's good fresh fruit too. Powerful on the palate, this has good intensity and drive, and the whole bunches are quite marked texturally as well. Good length and freshness, with fleshy fruit and a robust, tannic frame. A little more rustic than some Hermitage, but with age this will be very good. Grown on lieux-dits Les Bessards and Les Plantiers.
2022
Domaine Marc SorrelHermitage
Emmanuel Darnaud, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
More weight and concentration than some Hermitage this year, as well as more alcohol, concentration and a larger frame that will help it age. Fairly long finish, the oak does lend a slightly drying touch, yet this is very fine, floral, expressive and energetic. From lieux-dits Les Greffieux and Les Bessards.
2022
Emmanuel DarnaudHermitage
Delas Frères, Ligne de Crête, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Surprisingly pale in colour. An attractive nose, quite fragrant, with thyme and marjoram notes, plus just-ripe blackberry and plum. Light-bodied for a Hermitage, this is silky and precise, with good acidity and refined tannins. Very much a slimmed down style, but all in good balance. From the highest lieu-dit on the hill of Hermitage, Les Grandes Vignes.
2022
Delas FrèresHermitage
Domaine du Colombier, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Good purity of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, this is smooth and silky, with measured tannins and balanced alcohol. Tannins are fine and ripe, the extraction has been well managed. A long, tapered and elegant Hermitage, not powerful, but charming and drinkable. Spends 18 months in demi-muids, 30% new, the rest one year old.
2022
Domaine du ColombierHermitage
Domaine Yann Chave, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Wild strawberry and thyme notes make for a fairly light, perfumed style. Has some concentration of fruit, with more blackberry on the palate and cassis. Smooth tannins, well-balanced acidity and low alcohol, this is a charming and approachable style of Hermitage that can be enjoyed in its youth.
2022
Domaine Yann ChaveHermitage
Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Les Diognières, Hermitage, Rhône, France, 2022
Raspberry and plum, rosehip and sloe. The acidity here is quite marked, it doesn't feel terribly ripe, the alcohol is also quite measured. Balanced, lighter style of Hermitage that should offer some complexity in time, and waiting is advised to comb out the tannins.
2022
Domaine Laurent FayolleHermitage
