Chapoutier

Unlike Burgundy and Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley does not have an official vineyard classification system. There are, however, lieux-dits, or place names that denote vineyard sites and plots within each appellation. Chapoutier owns some of the most famous plots in the Rhone Valley, including 34 hectares within the tiny Hermitage appellation. This collection of highly sought after wines is coined “Selections Parcellaires”. These exceptional wines are created organically and biodinamically.

100% Marsanne, hand harvested at advanced maturity. After pressing, the must is cold racked for 24 hours. About 50% is vinified in new oak, the rest in vats. Ageing on lees with regular stirring during 6 months.
The name of this vineyard, “De L’Orée, was given by Michel Chapoutier’s grandfather who selected De L’Orée for the vineyard’s location at the eastern edge of Hermitage Hill – “Orée” means “edge” in French. “Orée” is also a reference to the color of the wine as “or” in French means “gold.”

De L’Orée is always a critic’s favorite with, at best, only 600 cases produced per year. Marsanne, particularly intense due to low yields and high ripeness, this wine handles barrel fermentation without taking on overt oak tones. The site is the alluvial Coteaux des Murets in the eastern part of Hermitage Hill. It is one of the longest-living dry white wines in France.

Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree Blanc 2006
1 bottle available, $180 per bottle
99 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree Blanc 2007
6 bottles available, $125 per bottle
(94-96) points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree Blanc 2008
6 bottles available, $120 per bottle
94 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree Blanc 2012
Pack Size: OWC (6), 12 bottles available, $170 per bottle
99 points Wine Advocate

100% Marsanne, hand harvested. After a light cold racking, fermentation in casks. After a long period of fermentation the wine is matured on lees at least for 10 months in 100% new oak.

Ermitage “L’Ermite” Blanc is the most individual statement in the Hermitage appellation, and the most prized for followers of M. Chapoutier’s grandest of crus. This rare wine is produced from a 3.7 acre site at the top of the Hermitage hill with around 100 cases produced annually. The vineyard’s elevated position, over 200 meters, allows long ripening at the end of the growing season, and its loess soils provide excellent drainage for rainwater. The vines, over 100 years old, are pruned to very low yield levels.

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite Blanc 2001
6 bottles available, $280 per bottle
(95-98) points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite Blanc 2005
Pack Size: OWC (12), 24 bottles available, $265 per bottle
95+ points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite Blanc 2012
Pack Size: OWC (12), 12 bottles available, $345 per bottle
100 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite Blanc 2013
Pack Size: OWC (12), 12 bottles available, $315 per bottle
100 points Wine Advocate

100% Syrah, hand harvested at maturity. The harvest, 100% destemmed, is vinified in a small, concrete vat. Maceration is long and lasts for 5-6 weeks. Free run juice is transferred immediately into new or one year old barrels to be matured for 18 to 20 months.

L’Ermite Rouge, a very rare wine (approximately 375 cases annually) produced from a 9.5 acre site at the top of Hermitage hill, is an intense Syrah with massive tannins. The age of the vines averages over 80 years, and the vines are pruned to very low yield levels.

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite 2001
Pack Size: OWC (6), 6 bottles available, $215 per bottle
(98-100) points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite 2005
6 bottles available, $225 per bottle
99+ points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite 2006
Pack Size: OWC (12), 12 bottles available, $235 per bottle
93 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite 2011
Pack Size: OWC (6), 12 bottles available, $215 per bottle
98+ points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite 2012
Pack Size: OWC (6), 24 bottles available, $295 per bottle
100 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage l’Ermite 2013
Pack Size: OWC (6), 6 bottles available, $195 per bottle
96+ points Wine Advocate

100% Marsanne. The grapes are hand harvested at full maturity (potential alcohol content being always at least 14%). After pressing the entire grapes, the must is cold racked for 24 hours. About 50% is vinified in new casks, the rest ferments in vats. Usually, bottling happens 10 to 12 months after harvest.

Le Méal, a broader swath of the hill at a slightly higher elevation (150-200 meters) faces slightly more easterly. It is composed of chalk and alluvial gravelly soil rather than granite, and produces a wine of greater perfume, whether red (Syrah) or white (Marsanne). Again, the small production from a 1.37 hectare site of vines, close to one century old, is reserved for Sélection Parcellaire labeling, up to 550 cases for the red and 300 of the rare white. Again, destemming and long macerations are the keys to suppleness and grace even as a young wine, though long cellaring will reward the patient taster. Le Méal holds its official “name place” from the old French word meaning “the best.”

Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal Blanc 2000
Pack Size: OWC (6), 12 bottles available, $200 per bottle
98 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal Blanc 2008
Pack Size: OWC (6), 6 bottles available, $150 per bottle
95 points Wine Advocate

100% Syrah. Hand harvested at maturity. The harvest, 100% destemmed, is vinified in a small cement vat. Wine is matured in new or 1 year old oak barrel for 14 to 18 months.

Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal 2006
6 bottles available, $140 per bottle
95 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal 2007
Pack Size: OWC (12), 12 bottles available, $125 per bottle
94 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal 2010
Pack Size: OWC (6), 6 bottles available, $210 per bottle
99+ points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal 2012
Pack Size: OWC (6), 12 bottles available, $185 per bottle
98 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal 2013
6 bottles available, $140 per bottle
97 points Wine Advocate

100% Syrah. Grapes are harvested when they are just beyond peak maturity. Due to their age, these wines give very low yields. The grapes ferment in open wooden vats after total destemming. One to two daily punch downs ensure a good extraction of the tannins. Maceration lasts 4 to 5 weeks.

This rarity (only 600 cases produced annually, from 4 hectares) comes form the granite soils of the lieu-dit Les Bessards. Its vines are positioned at a lower-altitude band of the Hermitage hill, at approximately 130 meters, above the ruins of a stone house which gives it its name. The tiny yields here (20 HL/HA) and a fermentation regimen of avoiding stem contact in a 24-28 day maceration, make this a deep, brooding, yet supple wine. Its aging capacity is easily 80-100 years, but its style is much more approachable than the traditional wines from this parcel. It has taken the lead postion as M. Chapoutier’s vintage statement for well over a decade.

Chapoutier Ermitage le Pavillon 1995
6 bottles available, $260 per bottle
99 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage le Pavillon 2009
Pack Size: OWC (12), 24 bottles available, $295 per bottle
100 points Wine Advocate

Chapoutier Ermitage le Pavillon 2010
Pack Size: OWC (6), 6 bottles available, $335 per bottle
100 points Wine Advocate