Utterly profound in every way, the 2010 Hermitage les Bessards comes from the steepest, most rugged and "badass" part of Hermitage Hill, the broken granite soils of the les Bessards lieu-dit. Inky colored, thick and massively concentrated, it has sensational notes of liquid granite (the essence of granite!), smoked meats, scorched earth, currants and chocolate on the nose. Full-bodied, frighteningly concentrated, structured and backwards, it needs another decade of cellaring but will keep for half a century.