Marked by scents of cedar, mint, violets and cherries, the 2019 Hermitage Ligne de Crete Les Grandes Vignes really opened up and added weight and texture with air, so I suspect my rating may be stingy. On the palate, it's currently medium to full-bodied, tight and silky in feel, with hints of licorice and maple syrup on the long, mouthwatering finish. Give it a few years, at minimum, in the cellar. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes.

While I've had multiple looks at previous vintages, this is my first review of the 2018 Hermitage Ligne de Crete Les Grandes Vignes. Inky in hue, it boasts powerful, brooding aromas that include hints of hardwood charcoal, dark berries, licorice, crushed stone and pencil shavings. Full-bodied and almost painfully intense, it's a huge, mouthfilling wine that seems capable of aging up to three decades. Rich, supple and creamy in texture, yet possessing remarkable length and retronasal nuance, it has to rank up there with some of the Hermitage hill's classics from other, more renowned producers. It certainly deserves a seat at that table and may be a candidate for a perfect score in the future.

The 2017 Hermitage Ligne de Crete Les Grandes Vignes is a forceful, muscular brute. Blueberries and blackberries dominate the nose, allowing just hints of the wine's stony underpinning and oak aging to seep through. Full-bodied and monochromatic, it demands a good 4-5 years in the cellar. In any event, readers will want to put it away to allow some of the copious tannins to resolve. The long, complex finish of mocha, olives and roasted meat suggests good things lie ahead for the patient.

The 2016 Hermitage Ligne de Crete Les Grandes Vignes is more approachable than the 2015, offering up notes of violets, blueberries, peppered meat and black olives. It's medium to full-bodied, ripe and velvety-textured—perhaps a bit open-knit for truly long-term aging—but open enough to enjoy now and over the next decade or so. Notes of crushed stone and menthol mark the intense, lingering finish.