Hermitage Hill Pilgrimage

The legendary hill rising above the Rhône. Romans built a chapel on the summit. A hermit later gave the hill its name. Walk through the vineyards to the chapel for one of wine's most sacred experiences.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Climb the Hill That Fed Roman Emperors Adventure · Free

   You're walking through 136 hectares of the most expensive farmland on earth (€4–10 million per hectare), the same south-facing granite slope the Romans climbed when they called this town 'Tegna.' Start at Rue de l'Hermitage in Tain-l'Hermitage — look for the marked trail just past the railway underpass. Pliny the Elder praised these wines. Martial wrote poems about them. Every step up is through a different terroir mosaic — Les Plantiers at the base, then Le Méal's shingle-covered fluvioglacial soils in the middle band, then the raw granite slabs of Les Bessards (Chave's oldest vines, 70-100 years old) as you approach the summit. The trail climbs ~150 meters over roughly 1 kilometer — moderate, rocky, requires proper shoes. Pick up the free walking leaflet at Cave de Tain (22 Route de Larnage) before you start — it names every parcel and explains the vine secrets along the route.

   Backup: If trail conditions are wet and slippery, the lower portion of the hill (Les Plantiers and lower Le Méal) is still worth exploring as a shorter 30-minute out-and-back. The view of the Rhône from even halfway up justifies the effort.

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2. 2 Find the Chapel Where a Broken Crusader Started a Legend History · Free

   In 1224, a knight named Henri-Gaspard de Stérimberg returned from the Albigensian Crusade — a savage Catholic war against heretics in southern France. He was battle-scarred, spiritually destroyed. Queen Blanche of Castile personally granted him permission to build a small refuge on this pagan hilltop and live as a hermit. He built the Chapelle Saint-Christophe (GPS: 45.0786, 4.8365) over a Roman temple to Hercules, planted vines among the ruins, and spent the rest of his life in solitude making wine. The hill became L'Hermitage — 'the hermit's place.' Reach the chapel via the marked vineyard trail. The chapel esplanade gives the best view of the entire Rhône valley below — the same view Stérimberg saw every morning for the rest of his life. Look at the chapel wall: that small stone building with its tower is literally on the label of Jaboulet La Chapelle, the wine Robert Parker rated 100 points in 20 out of 24 tastings.

   Backup: If you visit outside summer, the chapel esplanade is still accessible and the view is unchanged. The story doesn't need a guide — just stand there and look at the river.

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3. 3 Decode the Braille Labels at Chapoutier — Then Taste Le Pavillon Wine · Price: low

   Chapoutier owns approximately 25% of the entire Hermitage appellation — the single largest private landowner on the hill. Every bottle they make has Braille text on the label at M. Chapoutier tasting room (18 Avenue Dr Paul Durand, 26600 Tain-l'Hermitage). Michel Chapoutier discovered that some parcels had once belonged to Maurice Monier de la Sizeranne, who in 1882 co-invented the first abbreviated Braille alphabet, enabling blind literacy worldwide. By 1996, every single Chapoutier bottle in the world had Braille. Run your fingertips across the label — you're touching 140 years of history in raised dots. Ask specifically to taste Le Pavillon — their flagship 100% Syrah from Les Bessards, the most granitic parcel of the entire hill. Only ~7,000 bottles per vintage. Market price: $260–$820 depending on vintage. Vineyard tour + sommelier tasting: €39–€130/person. Open daily — call ahead: +33 4 75 08 92 61.

   Backup: If the full vineyard tour is unavailable, the free individual tasting at the tasting counter gives access to a range of Chapoutier wines including their more approachable Crozes-Hermitage bottlings at €15–€25/bottle retail.

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4. 4 Toast the Founding Father Who Ordered 500 Bottles at Cave de Tain Wine · Price: low

   In March 1787, Thomas Jefferson rode through Tain-l'Hermitage on a wine tour of southern France. He tasted red and white Hermitage, pulled out his notebook, and wrote: 'There are but three of those hills which produce wine of the 1st quality.' He later called white Hermitage 'the first wine in the world without a single exception.' As president, he ordered 500 bottles for the White House cellar. Cave de Tain (22 Route de Larnage, 26600 Tain-l'Hermitage) is the cooperative founded in 1933 by Louis Gambert de Loche, who in 1967 left his 22 hectares of actual Hermitage hill to the cooperative in his will. During the tour, ask the guide to explain the three main lieux-dits — Les Bessards (granite, most tannic), Le Méal (alluvial shingles, more generous), and L'Hermite (mixed soils near the summit, highest acid). Guided cellar tour + 5-wine tasting: €16/adult, €5/children. Tours run Saturdays 15h30 and Sundays 10h30. Reservation: www.cavedetain.com.

   Backup: If the guided tour day doesn't align with your visit, the tasting room is open without a tour: Mon–Sat 10am–12:30pm and 2–6:30pm, Sunday 10am–12:30pm and 2–6pm. Walk in and ask for the Gambert de Loche Hermitage rouge.

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5. 5 Drink La Chapelle Wine AT the Chapel — Friday Evenings in Summer Wine · Price: moderate · Optional

   Jaboulet owns the chapel at the summit of Hermitage hill. They own the vineyards around it. On selected summer Friday evenings, they set up a pop-up wine bar on the esplanade of the exact chapel whose image appears on their La Chapelle label — Jaboulet's Bar Éphémère operates Friday evenings from 18h00, June through August. You're drinking Hermitage wine looking at the hill that made it, at golden hour, above the Rhône. Current-vintage La Chapelle — the wine Parker has tasted 24+ times and rated 100 points in 20 of them — is poured here by the glass. Climb the vineyard trail arriving by 17h30 to get settled before the 18h00 service begins. The sun hits the chapel and the Rhône from the southwest at this time. 2025 dates: June 6, June 20, June 27–28, July 4–5, July 11–12, July 25–26, August 8–9, August 22, August 29–30. Reservation required — book via the Vineum (25 Place du Taurobole) or jaboulet.com.

   Backup: If you're visiting outside summer or can't get a Bar Éphémère reservation, the Vineum at 25 Place du Taurobole (foot of the hill) runs themed tastings year-round at €33–€65/person. The sommelier-led La Chapelle vertical tasting lets you taste multiple vintages of the same wine in sequence — a different kind of revelation.

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Insider tips

• Walk to the chapel at sunset — it's spiritual

• The "L'Hermite" and "Le Méal" parcels are the finest

• M. Chapoutier wines are labeled with Braille — founder was blind

• Jean-Louis Chave is the benchmark producer (hard to access)