Hermitage

Rhône Valley · France · Wine Auction Prices

Hermitage is France's most revered Syrah appellation and one of the rarest — just 136 hectares on a single granite hill above Tain-l'Hermitage in the northern Rhône. With 2,600+ lots at auction averaging $342 per bottle, Hermitage punches far above its size. Jaboulet's La Chapelle (now Faurie de Beaucastel), produced from the famous chapel vineyard since 1961, was historically the auction benchmark; the 1961 was the first French wine to score 100 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (1989). Chave's single-plot selections from Bessards, Méal, and Rocoules now represent the reference cuvées — his single-vineyard L'Ermite trades above $1,500. The granite soils of Bessards produce the most structured, long-lived wine; the sandy-clay Méal adds aromatics and mid-palate richness. White Hermitage from Chave and Chapoutier (Chante-Alouette, De l'Orée) is arguably France's greatest white wine value at auction, trading at $200–800 per bottle.