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Red
750ml
Bottle: $241.24
6 bottles: $236.42
From a rocky, mica-schist lieu-dit that's only recently been showing up on single-vineyard wines, Chapoutier's 2017...
12 FREE
WA
97
WS
97
White
750ml
Bottle: $787.95
6 bottles: $772.19
As in 2016, my favorite of the white parcel selections this year is the 2017 Ermitage l'Ermite Blanc (231 cases...
12 FREE
WA
100
DC
98
Red
750ml
Bottle: $343.95
6 bottles: $340.00
Similar to the '12 and showing the generosity and warmth of this site, the 2011 Ermitage le Meal is another sexy wine...
12 FREE
WA
98
WS
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $669.00
6 bottles: $655.62
Even better and a prodigious effort that hits all my sweet spots, the 2011 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from one of the...
12 FREE
WA
100
WS
96
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $394.95 $431.20
The inky colored 2017 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from the biggest, baddest part of Hermitage and was brought up all...
12 FREE
JD
100
WA
99
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $435.00
Screaming "Granite!" at the top of its lungs, the 2015 Saint Joseph Le Clos comes from an east-facing parcel located...
JD
99
WA
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $94.28
The 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape Barbe Rac is brilliant and up there with some of the finest vintages to date of this...
JD
97
WA
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $85.44
At the top end of Chapoutier's Southern Rhône hierarchy are the two sélections parcellaires from Châteauneuf du...
WA
97
JD
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $163.99
In the debut vintage for this bottling, the 2015 Cote Rotie Neve makes a huge splash. It has that unique Côte Rôtie...
WA
97
JD
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $234.91
From a rocky, mica-schist lieu-dit that's only recently been showing up on single-vineyard wines, Chapoutier's 2017...
WA
97
WS
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $50.45
The 2017 Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers is a wild beauty with Hermitage notes of blackberries, cassis, crushed rock,...
JD
95
WS
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $258.62
The 2011 Ermitage l’Ermite is a killer Hermitage that offers a huge bouquet of thick crème de cassis and black...
WA
98
JD
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $1644.48
Lastly, the 2015 Ermitage L’Ermite offers that classic, searing granite/ozone-laced bouquet of crème de cassis,...
WA
100
JD
100
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $694.95
Lastly, the 2015 Ermitage L’Ermite offers that classic, searing granite/ozone-laced bouquet of crème de cassis,...
WA
100
JD
100
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $617.26
The 2017 Ermitage l'Ermite is equally astounding but a completely different expression of Hermitage. Somehow this...
WA
100
DC
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $343.94
The 2017 Ermitage l'Ermite is equally astounding but a completely different expression of Hermitage. Somehow this...
WA
100
DC
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $226.57
Even better and always one of the top whites in any given vintage, the 2011 Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree (first...
WA
99
WS
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $159.53
Rich and opulent on the nose, with yellow peach and honeycomb. Very full bodied, with that immediate internal sweet...
DC
99
JD
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $477.98
The 2011 Ermitage l’Ermite Blanc is pure perfection in white wine. Coming from very old, pre-phylloxera vines...
WA
100
JD
100
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $458.28
I’ve probably rated the L'Ermite Blanc a perfect score more times than any other wine out there, and the 2015...
WA
100
JD
100

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.