Hermitage AOC

Winegrowing here is old: the INAO cahier des charges says vine growing in this sector would date back at least to the Roman occupation, between 124 BC and 61 BC, and Inter Rhône says the Romans called these 'the wines of Vienne'. The name comes from a legend. As Inter Rhône tells it, the knight Gaspard de Stérimberg returned from the Albigensian crusade and founded a hermitage on the hill in 1224. The INAO text, citing Albert du Boy's album du Dauphiné of 1836, calls the story apocryphal, but says the archives of Tain-l'Hermitage record several hermits on the hill from 1598 and that the hill's name changed from the coteau of Saint-Christophe to the coteau de l'Ermitage. Inter Rhône lists Henry IV, Boileau, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Nicolas II and Alexandre Dumas among Hermitage enthusiasts, and the INAO text records Thomas Jefferson describing it in 1791 as "The first wine in the world without exception". JancisRobinson.com describes a period when red wines were ordered hermitagé, with Hermitage added to them for colour and strength, and James Lawther MW writes in Decanter that red Hermitage was used to bolster quality Bordeaux in the 18th and 19th centuries. After phylloxera, growers rebuilt the vineyard from 1881; the Syndicat de protection de l'appellation Hermitage, founded in 1930 to delimit it, opened the way to recognition, and the appellation contrôlée followed by decree on 4 March 1937.

• Roman roots: INAO says vine growing here would date back at least to the Roman occupation (124 BC to 61 BC); Inter Rhône says the Romans called these 'the wines of Vienne'
• The Stérimberg hermit legend (1224) is apocryphal according to INAO, but Tain-l'Hermitage archives record hermits on the hill from 1598
• Hermitagé: JancisRobinson.com describes the old trade practice of adding Hermitage to red wines for colour and strength
• Post-phylloxera rebuilding from 1881; Syndicat de protection de l'appellation founded in 1930; appellation contrôlée by decree of 4 March 1937 (INAO)

The INAO cahier des charges describes the zone as a fragment of granite massif that the Rhône separated from the Ardèche mountains, leaving an island in the Drôme on the river's left bank. Because the hill runs perpendicular to the valley, its steep slopes shelter the vines from north winds and create what INAO calls a very hot mesoclimate, warm enough for a few relic olive trees in the Beaumes quarter; the same text says this position removes the risk of spring frost. At the southern end of the relief, the Pierreaiguille rock (335 metres) marks the western limit of the hillside. Soils change from west to east: granite covered with mica-schist and gneiss, weathered into fragile sandy-clay granitic sands, in the west; old alluvial terraces left by melting glaciers in the east; and wind-blown limestone loess on the flats at the top of the hill. Decanter's Matt Walls (2022) counts 20 lieux-dits and says the granitic part makes up only around 25% of the hill, most of it within Les Bessards. Inter Rhône describes Les Bessards as the appellation's 'red' terroir, Le Méal in the upper centre as limestone and flint with rounded pebbles, Les Greffieux below it as relatively more fertile, and the Murets and Dionnières parcels in the east, on clay and far gentler slopes, as "superb white wine terroirs". Inter Rhône classes the climate as semi-continental with Mediterranean influences.

• A south-facing hill on the Rhône's left bank; INAO says its steep slopes shelter the vines from north winds and remove the risk of spring frost
• West: granite with mica-schist and gneiss; east: old alluvial terraces; hilltop flats: wind-blown loess (INAO)
• Decanter's Matt Walls (2022) counts 20 lieux-dits; Les Grandes Vignes, the highest part of the hill, rises to 325 metres
• Inter Rhône: Les Bessards is the 'red' terroir; the Murets and Dionnières parcels are superb white wine terroirs

Red Hermitage is made from Syrah, the principal variety in the INAO cahier des charges, which admits Marsanne and Roussanne as accessory varieties: they may be interplanted among the Syrah up to 15% of the vines, Syrah must make up at least 85% of the blend, and wines that include the white grapes are vinified as a blend of those grapes with the Syrah. Inter Rhône likewise says reds "may contain up to 15% Roussanne and/or Marsanne". The resulting reds are, in the INAO text's description, intensely coloured, powerful and tannic, with a good capacity to age, and JancisRobinson.com calls them deep-flavoured and long-lived. White Hermitage is made from Marsanne and Roussanne; INAO calls Roussanne the more anecdotal of the two and says the white varieties, mainly Marsanne, are concentrated on the more calcareous soils, while Syrah is planted mostly on the western, granitic part of the hill. INAO describes the whites as having great aromatic power (white flowers, spice, honey) and a fine balance between acidity and a certain mellowness, without fermentable sugars; JancisRobinson.com calls white Hermitage "unusually full-bodied" and says it "can be difficult to appreciate until its bouquet has developed after many years in bottle". The appellation also makes vin de paille. The INAO text says this sets Hermitage apart from the other Northern Rhône appellations, although volumes are confidential, and that the white grapes dry for at least 45 days before a slow, incomplete fermentation gives amber, sweet wines in which candied fruit dominates.

• Red: Syrah at least 85% of the blend; Marsanne and Roussanne up to 15% of the vines, interplanted and vinified with the Syrah (INAO)
• White: Marsanne and Roussanne; INAO calls Roussanne the more anecdotal and places the white varieties mainly on the more calcareous soils
• Vin de paille: white grapes dried for at least 45 days; INAO says it distinguishes Hermitage from the other Northern Rhône appellations, in confidential volumes
• Winemaking: James Lawther MW (Decanter) says most producers now destem and that barrel choice varies between the 228-litre Burgundian pièce and the 600-litre demi-muid

The INAO cahier des charges says the vineyard is worked by many owners with parcels scattered across the delimited area, which leads growers to favour the complementarity of soils. In 2009, according to INAO, the 137 hectares in production were shared between 1 cooperative cellar, 7 négociants and 17 private cellars. JancisRobinson.com names the merchant houses of Chapoutier, Paul Jaboulet and Delas and the family domaine of Jean-Louis Chave in and around Tain, along with the cooperative Cave de Tain l'Hermitage. Decanter's Matt Walls (2022) writes that most Hermitage was once a blend of vineyards from across the hill, but that single-vineyard wines have multiplied since the 1990s. In his account, Le Méal has always been the major component of Jaboulet's La Chapelle, with Les Bessards a minor one and Les Greffieux also used; Chapoutier's Le Pavillon comes from Les Bessards; Delas has bottled Ligne de Crête from Les Grandes Vignes since 2015; and Domaine Marc Sorrel's Le Gréal comes mainly from Le Méal, with the rest from Les Greffieux. Les Bessards is also a major component in both of Jean-Louis Chave's red blends, and James Lawther MW, writing in Decanter, calls Domaine Jean-Louis Chave the "True champion of the blended wine".

• Paul Jaboulet Aîné, La Chapelle: Le Méal has always been the major component, with Les Bessards and Les Greffieux also used (Decanter, 2022)
• M. Chapoutier: Le Pavillon comes from Les Bessards, and Monier de la Sizeranne blends Les Bessards with Le Méal and Les Greffieux (Decanter); JancisRobinson.com notes that Michel Chapoutier practises biodynamic viticulture
• Domaine Jean-Louis Chave: Les Bessards is a major component of both red blends, and the white is blended from three vinifications of Les Rocoules from the top, middle and bottom of the hill (Decanter, 2022)
• Also named by Decanter (2022): Delas Ligne de Crête (Les Grandes Vignes, since 2015), Domaine Marc Sorrel Le Gréal (Le Méal and Les Greffieux), and Guigal's Ex-Voto, 30% of which comes from Les Bessards

Hermitage is governed by an INAO cahier des charges homologated by decree n° 2011-1806 of 6 December 2011; the text used here is the modification approved by INAO's national committee on 25 June 2024. The name may appear as Hermitage, l'Hermitage, Ermitage or l'Ermitage, and it may be completed by the mention 'vin de paille'. Grapes must come from the parcel area approved by INAO's national committee on 2 June 1989 within Tain-l'Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Larnage. Vines are planted at a minimum of 6,000 per hectare, pruned to at most 9 buds per vine, trained on stakes or a raised trellis, and harvested by hand, with the bunches carried whole to the winery. Yields are set at 40 hl/ha for red, 45 hl/ha for white and 15 hl/ha for vin de paille, with a ceiling (rendement butoir) of 46 hl/ha for red and white. Minimum natural alcohol is 10.5% for red, 11% for white and 19.5% for vin de paille, and after enrichment the wines may not exceed 13.5% total alcohol for red and 14% for white. Oak chips and continuous presses are banned, and vin de paille grapes must carry more than 350 grams of sugar per litre of must at pressing.

• Appellation contrôlée by decree of 4 March 1937; current cahier des charges homologated by decree n° 2011-1806 of 6 December 2011 (INAO)
• Yields: 40 hl/ha red, 45 hl/ha white, 15 hl/ha vin de paille; ceiling of 46 hl/ha for red and white
• Minimum natural alcohol 10.5% red, 11% white, 19.5% vin de paille; maximum total alcohol after enrichment 13.5% red, 14% white
• Hand harvesting, a minimum of 6,000 vines per hectare, no oak chips and no continuous presses

Tain-l'Hermitage sits beneath the hill, and JancisRobinson.com notes that its sister town of Tournon lies just across a footbridge over the Rhône, with Crozes-Hermitage, a much bigger appellation, on the flatter land around the hill. The landscape is protected: the INAO cahier des charges records that the coteaux of l'Hermitage were classified as a site by decree of 5 June 2013, citing the preservation of the walls, terraces and banquettes that structure the landscape. The same text says growers and wine merchants painted their names on the retaining walls and then on walls placed higher up the hill, a practice that began with the development of the railway between 1850 and 1855. Decanter's Matt Walls (2022) places the Chapel of Saint Christopher above Les Bessards, in the lieu-dit of L'Hermite. The INAO text calls Hermitage the only appellation of the Northern Rhône whose reputation was built as much on its whites as on its reds.

• Tournon faces Tain-l'Hermitage across a footbridge over the Rhône (JancisRobinson.com)
• Hillside classified as a site by decree of 5 June 2013 for its walls, terraces and banquettes (INAO)
• Names painted on the hillside walls, a practice that began with the railway between 1850 and 1855 (INAO)
• The Chapel of Saint Christopher stands above Les Bessards, in L'Hermite (Decanter, 2022)

Primary sources (INAO and Inter Rhône): https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2024AOPHermitage.pdf, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-hermitage. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/premium/walls-get-to-know-the-20-lieux-dits-of-hermitage-473245/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/understanding-hermitage-248139/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/france/northern-rhone. Last verified 2026-09-24