One of the worlds top producers and growers, with 175 acres of vines in 5 different Rhone Valley appellations. `In 1989, I knew how to make noise...Now I know how to make music,` says Michel Chapoutier of his style when he took over from his father Max in 1989. Immediately converting to biodynamics, of this transformation, Robert Parker says, `I have never witnessed a more significant jump in quality and change in winemaking philosophy than what occurred in the Chapoutier cellars`. Chapoutier is a man who cares deeply abouth the dirt, proclaiming that, `Everything is in the soil and the vines. It is my intention to kill the character of the grape, but bring up the quality of the soil.` He practices no filtration, and is fond of quipping `Filtering wine is like making love with a condom.` Each wine displays their unique characteristics according to where in the vineyard and on what medium they are planted as he practices monocepage (single varietal vinification). You can taste the crushed rocks and minerality of L`Ermite and Les Granits; the subtle power and richness from the clay of Le Meal; the awesome completeness from the sedimentary Les Greffieux; the complexity of Le Pavillon with its granite and chalk melange. Patience is key here, and his wines benefit from at least 8 to 10 years of bottle age.
`Michel Chapoutier has been misunderstood by some of his peers, and there is a lot of jealousy when someone this young is so incredibly talented, but it is an irrefutable fact that these are wines of singular greatness as well as longevity.` - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, Dec 2004
Chapoutier
