2023 Ferraton Pere et Fils La Matiniere Crozes-Hermitage 750 ml

Crafted under Michel Chapoutier—who’s earned more than forty 100-point scores—the Ferraton Père & Fils La Matinière Crozes-Hermitage is one of the Rhône’s great values, every vintage. In a warm, standout year like 2023 watch out.

Ferraton has “access to some of the best vineyards in the region,” according to Vinous, “and certainly get the most of them.” They do that through the winemaking of Michel Chapoutier, who, with 40+ 100-point scores to his name, is no less than a deity of Rhône winemaking.

But Ferraton, despite their fantastic terroir, despite the famous winemaker at the helm, remains an insider secret. Vinous commented that the estate “produces outstanding [wines], but they're still an under-the-radar winery." 

Ferraton's vines are farmed biodynamically. Chapoutier was originally brought on as a farming consultant, then took on a more active role in the winery over the years, implementing vineyard practices to encourage soil health and abundant microflora.

In 2023, that careful stewardship in the vineyard paid dividends through a growing season that rewarded experience. A wet, stormy spring brought significant mildew pressure across the Northern Rhône, and the growers who stayed on top of it—responsive, attentive, doing the hard work early—ultimately benefited. Summer arrived with heat, culminating in a two-week August heatwave that pushed temperatures to 40°C and concentrated the fruit further.

The wines that emerged from Crozes-Hermitage are fresh, expressive, and approachable—moderate in alcohol, with ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit, a signature herbal lift, and supple tannins that make them a pleasure to pull early. It's a vintage that reflects the terroir clearly, the kind of year where attentive farming and thoughtful winemaking show up in the glass.