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Red
750ml
Bottle: $355.90
Showing similar to last year, the 2012 Ermitage le Meal is a blockbuster that's about as voluptuous and sexy as...
12 FREE
WA
98
WS
96
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $435.00
In complete contrast to the sexy, flamboyant les Granits, the tiny production 2012 Saint Joseph le Clos (which comes...
WA
96
VM
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $60.13
Vivid ruby. Highly aromatic cherry and red berry scents are complicated by licorice, Indian spices and cola. Deeply...
WA
92
VM
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $276.95
I’ve always loved the 2012 Ermitage L'Ermite, and it’s probably the wine of the vintage. Coming from the pure...
WA
100
JD
100
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $570.45
Another perfect wine from this reference point estate, the 2012 L'Ermite Blanc tastes like the essence of this...
WA
100
JD
100
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $173.93
Showing similar to last year, the 2012 Ermitage le Meal is a blockbuster that's about as voluptuous and sexy as...
WA
98
WS
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $255.95
Pure perfection in Syrah, the 2012 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from the pure granite soils of the Les Bessards...
WA
100
JD
100
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $165.67
A wine I've been lucky enough to have multiple times recently, the 2012 Ermitage les Greffieux is a full-bodied,...
WA
97
WS
95
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $165.95
Another blockbuster that savvy readers need to buy up, the 2012 Saint Joseph les Granits Blanc is a drop-dead...
WA
95
WS
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $60.65
Always one of the top wines in the appellation, the 2012 Saint Joseph les Granits is a blockbuster that needs to be...
WA
96
WS
94

The Rhone region of France is one which is deeply influenced by tradition. With a wine history which stretches back to well over a thousand years, and a consistent degree of excellence demonstrated by their wineries, producing wines which have shaped the drink as we know it, it isn’t difficult to see why tradition is held in such high regard. What is unusual then, is when you find a Rhone winery which, while producing excellent, classic Rhone wines, is also willing to seek out new opportunities and break from the norm somewhat.

One such winery is Maison Chapoutier. The Chapoutier family are a proper, old Rhone clan, who operate on land which has been passed down from father to son since the end of the 18th century. The winery was set up on the ancestral site in 1879, when a set of heritage vineyards were bought and new vines were sown, thus starting the business which continues to this day. The wineries fortunes were mixed, and for much of its history it didn’t make any great waves with their traditional, standard Hermitage wines which were probably very similar to those made elsewhere in the village. However, in the 1980s, the latest generation of Chapoutiers, Michel and Marc, took over the business from their father with a renewed sense of passion and keenness to make their voices heard and their wine tasted across the world.

The results were highly positive, and the Rhone wines of Maison Chapoutier quickly gained recognition for their excellence and complexity. The success of their home produce prompted the Chapoutier brothers to expand their family business, and they soon set their sights on becoming an international company, spreading their unique style - blending Rhone tradition with global sophistication - elsewhere around the world. They bought vineyards in Portugal, and then Australia, and decided to break with tradition completely and turn their farming techniques over to the biodynamic method, which emphasizes using natural cycles of the moon, enriching the soils with various natural components, and trying to be completely harmonious with nature. As such, all of their vineyards around the world are completely organic and biodynamic, and all of their wines are single-varietal - another unusual feature at odds with their traditional roots, where blending is very much the norm. The results more than speak for themselves, however, and Marc and Michel Chapoutier continue to receive awards and recognition for their wines, as they seek to expand further and continue spreading their message.