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
Founded in 1835 by Charles Audibert and Philippe Delas, Maison Delas Frères is an iconic Rhône Valley estate headquartered in Tain-l'Hermitage. Now part of the Champagne Louis Roederer family of estates, the house underwent a major quality renaissance through modern cellar innovations and meticulous vineyard stewardship across both the Northern and Southern Rhône. Delas manages prestigious parcels across heralded appellations including Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Renowned for its precision winemaking, the estate crafts deeply expressive, terroir-driven wines, from powerful, mineral-tinged Syrahs like Les Bessards and La Landonne to aromatic, textural Viogniers like Clos Boucher.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Syrah
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
13.5-14.5%