2005 Maison Chapoutier Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonnieres

Under the single-minded leadership of Michel Chapoutier, this old family-owned, Hermitage-based merchant firm has returned to prominence since the late 1980s. All estate vineyards are now farmed biodynamically, and contract vineyards are also vetted for biodynamic or, at the very least, organic viticulture.  The reasoning? To allow terroir to express itself as fully as possibility. This same philosophy also underpins the aversion to manipulation in the cellar. Chapoutier's cuvées parcellaires (single-vineyard wines), made in very small quantities and extremely expensive, are their best wines by a wide margin.

Under the single-minded leadership of Michel Chapoutier, this old family-owned, Hermitage-based merchant firm has returned to prominence since the late 1980s. All estate vineyards are now farmed biodynamically, and contract vineyards are also vetted for biodynamic or, at the very ... more