2019 Delas Hermitage Les Bessards

Other Reviews....
While the 2019 Hermitage Les Bessards features classic notes of crushed stone and cassis on the nose and is nicely medium to full-bodied on the palate, it doesn't show the impressive richness and texture of either the 2018 or 2020. Black olives and dark berries are borne on a creamy palate, and the finish is silky and licorice tinged. Perhaps it was just at an awkward stage post-bottling, as it did seem to improve dramatically with air. Tasted twice (once blind), with consistent notes. Drink 2023 - 2035.
93+ points
Joe Czerwinski - Wine Advocate (Jan 2022)

Ripe, spice-accented dark berry liqueur, candied violet, incense and licorice scents, along with hints of olive paste and smoky, exotic spices. Palate-staining boysenberry, cherry liqueur, floral pastille and fruitcake flavors show impressive depth and an undercurrent of smoky minerality. Expands steadily with air and finishes extremely long and minerally, with youthfully chewy tannins and outstanding, floral-driven persistence.
95-97 points
Josh Raynolds - Vinous

This is loaded with dark and winey plum sauce, blackberry paste and fig compote flavors that glide through over notes of warm earth, sweet tobacco and anise. A subtle singed alder hint infuses the finish, along with a flicker of violet, while the fruit takes an encore. This shows seriously hefty fruit matched with a terrific underpinning of terroir. For the cellar. Best from 2024 through 2039. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.
97 points
James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

Remarkable tannic finesse is immediately apparent, teamed with great freshness, good acidity and deep concentration.There is a great sense of focus and direction and this has that Bessards salinity and straightness. Sweet fruit flavours combine with shoe polish, juniper, sloe, and damson juice. Incredible finesse and seamless character. 3,900 bottles made. Their oldest parcel of lieu-dit Les Bessards, fermented in concrete, then aged for 12 months in new and one-year-old barrels. Drinking Window 2026 - 2043.
98 points
Matt Walls - Decanter