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Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $599.94 $672.00
As usual, Chapoutier's 2018 Ermitage l'Ermite is a standout among standouts. Crushed stone, blueberries, even a touch...
12 FREE
WA
100
VM
98
White
750ml
Bottle: $616.95
6 bottles: $604.61
Another truly flawless wine from this dream team is the 2018 Ermitage L’Ermite Blanc, which comes from a vineyard...
12 FREE
WA
100
JD
100
Red
750ml
Bottle: $298.95
From one of the warmer terroirs on Hermitage Hill, the 2018 Ermitage Le Méal was all destemmed and vinified in...
12 FREE
JD
99
WA
98
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $388.08 $431.20
Coming all from the pure granite soils of the Bessards lieu-dit, on the western side of Hermitage, the 2018 Ermitage...
12 FREE
WA
98
VM
98
Red
750ml
Bottle: $127.94
6 bottles: $125.38
93-96 Potentially the best recent vintage of this cuvée, the 2018 Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne boasts scents of...
12 FREE
WA
96
JD
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $78.28
I’d put the 2018 Châteauneuf du Barbe Rac up against anything in this vintage. Coming from 100% Grenache brought...
WA
96
WS
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $69.45
The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Croix De Bois showed beautifully, with the upfront, perfumed style of the vintage....
JD
97
VM
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $121.54
Straight up stunning, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Mordorée does everything right and is a borderline perfect Côte...
JD
98
WA
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $54.45
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $273.43
As usual, Chapoutier's 2018 Ermitage l'Ermite is a standout among standouts. Crushed stone, blueberries, even a touch...
WA
100
VM
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $173.70
96-98 Classy hints of pencil shavings accent the pear, nectarine and melon fruit in the full-bodied, voluptuous 2018...
WA
98
JD
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $492.54
Another truly flawless wine from this dream team is the 2018 Ermitage L’Ermite Blanc, which comes from a vineyard...
WA
100
JD
100
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $216.95
From one of the warmer terroirs on Hermitage Hill, the 2018 Ermitage Le Méal was all destemmed and vinified in...
JD
99
WA
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $221.52
97-99 Is le Méal the most complex and complete lieu-dit on Hermitage, when considering both red and white wines? The...
WA
99
JD
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $250.59
Coming all from the pure granite soils of the Bessards lieu-dit, on the western side of Hermitage, the 2018 Ermitage...
WA
98
VM
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $154.21
Certainly the most plush and sexy of the 2018 single vineyard releases, the 2018 Ermitage Les Greffieux is all Syrah...
WA
97
VM
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $76.28
93-96 Potentially the best recent vintage of this cuvée, the 2018 Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne boasts scents of...
WA
96
JD
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $105.66
A more reductive, meaty, backward effort than normal, the 2018 Saint Joseph Les Granits is all Syrah that comes from...
JD
97
WA
95

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.