- Parker Points: 17,6/20 - Fill Level: Neck - Label condition:Excellent Label - Capsule condition: Excellent - Bottle size/capacity: 750 ml - Bottled : At the Château - Ready to drink or age - Wine cellar storage at 12°C -a slightly damaged back label Alongside the major wine merchants, some Hermitage parcels are still meticulously cultivated by a few owners. Marc Sorrel is one of them, and his Hermitage Le Gréal has now risen to the level of the very best. Founded in 1928 by Félix Sorrel, a notary in Tain-L’Hermitage, the estate was taken over in the early 1980s by Marc Sorrel, then working in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. His father, Henri, had decided in the early 1970s to vinify and bottle his own wine instead of selling it to négociants. Upon his father's death, Marc Sorrel inherited part of the estate and acquired other parcels on the Hermitage hillside, notably the exceptional terroirs of Les Greffieux and Les Bessards, bringing his total vineyard holdings from just over one hectare to four hectares. Since 2019, Marc's son, Guillaume Sorel, has taken over and elevated the estate even further. The vines, arranged in terraces on the steep slopes, are cultivated naturally and by hand; the plots at the bottom of the slopes are plowed by horse, and the steepest ones by winch. The wines are partially vinified using whole clusters. The estate produces four Hermitage cuvées, complex and generous wines that require significant aging to fully develop – we recommend waiting at least 3-4 years and ideally 10 years or more! The estate's wines are highly sought after, and production is very limited (approximately 1,500 bottles per white cuvée and 3,000 to 4,000 bottles for the red cuvées). About the cuvée This Hermitage comes from 30-year-old vines in the Mas des Plantiers estate, located below the Greffieux sector. The grapes are destemmed and vinification is carried out using traditional methods, followed by aging in oak barrels for 18 to 22 months. The wine has a garnet color, and the nose reveals aromas of clove and wild black berries. It is well-balanced and juicy.