Les Bessards
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted rack of lamb, venison stew, or prime rib.
✨ Technical Specifications
Delas Frères' Hermitage 'Les Bessards' is a monumental expression of Northern Rhône Syrah, sourced entirely from the legendary, steep granite slopes of the Les Bessards climat on the Hermitage hill. This specific hillside, with its highly decomposed granite soils, is widely regarded as the spiritual heart of the appellation, producing wines of immense structure, power, and longevity. Historically, the Hermitage hill has been revered since Roman times, with legends attributing its name to the 13th-century knight Gaspard de Stérimberg, who returned wounded from the Albigensian Crusade to live as a hermit. Delas crafts this cuvée only in exceptional vintages, utilizing traditional fermentation in open concrete vats followed by meticulous aging in French oak barrels. The resulting wine is deeply concentrated, characterized by dark blackberry fruit, cracked black pepper, smoky granite minerality, and muscular tannins that demand patience.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1835 in the northern Rhône valley, Delas Frères has evolved from its origins in Tournon-sur-Rhône into one of the region's benchmark estates, acquiring its defining identity under the Delas family before becoming part of the Roederer Collection in 1993. Situated at its architecturally celebrated, gravity-fed winery in Tain-l'Hermitage, the house manages prestigious estate vineyards alongside curated négociant partnerships. The viticultural foundation is centered on the steep, south-facing granitic amphitheaters of Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, and Côte-Rôtie, supplemented by alluvial terraces in Crozes-Hermitage. Farmed under certified organic and High Environmental Value Level 3 standards, Delas practices rigorous parcel-by-parcel selections and gentle, temperature-regulated fermentations designed to preserve fruit purity and structural tension. Renowned for sculptural Syrah and opulent, mineral-laced Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier, Delas Frères expresses classic Rhône typicity through iconic cuvées such as Hermitage Les Bessards, Domaine des Tourettes, and Saint-Joseph Sainte-Épine.
🍇 Grapes
Syrah
🍷 ABV
13.5-14.5%