【M. Chapoutier is one of the wineries with the most perfect scores from Robert Parker (42 times).】
【Ranked #5 among the world's most popular and admired wine brands in 2019.】
【Jeb Dunnuck 95】【Decanter 94】【Wine Spectator 94】
【Wine Advocate 93】【Jancis Robinson 17.5+】【Vivino 4.2】
ZTF1019A M Chapoutier Hermitage Chante Alouette Blanc 2019
Special price: $595/piece
Appellation/Category: France / Hermitage / Chante Alouette
Grape Varieties: 100% Marsanne
Alcohol content: 14%
Volume: 750ml
Chante Aloutte lies below the Maison Blanche vineyard, facing south. Its soils are composed of loess and topped with limestone clay. After hand-harvesting and pressing, one-third of the juice is fermented in new oak barrels, with the remainder in stainless steel tanks. Barrel aging, determined annually based on tasting results, lasts approximately 10 to 12 months. The wine boasts a brilliant golden-green color and a complex, delicate nose, offering notes of honey, ginger, quince, and linden blossom. Its distinct style and soft palate, with a toasted almond finish, create an elegant, long-lasting finish.
【Jeb Dunnuck 95】
Always a classic Hermitage Blanc, the 2019 Hermitage Chante-Alouette Blanc is all Marsanne that comes mostly from vines just above the Le Méal lieu-dit, but also from the upper part of the Les Murets. A rich, medium to full-bodied beauty, it has classic Hermitage minerality as well as smoking good notes of buttered peach, quince, woodsmoke, crushed stone, and a touch of spice. It shows even more minerality on the palate and is balanced, with ample mid-palate depth and a great finish. This young, concentrated, vibrant Hermitage Blanc can be drunk over the coming 20-25 years or more.
【Wine Spectator 94】
Deliciously ripe and succulent, with yellow apple, green plum and Cavaillon melon notes laced with salted butter, honeysuckle and heather. This has a minerally edge and a flash of bitter orange buried on the finish, adding a hint of tension for balance. Lovely.
【Wine Advocate 93】
Blended from the lieux-dits of Les Murets, Le Méal and the loess portion of L'Ermite, the 2019 Hermitage Chante-Alouette is a ripe, rich wine marked by notes of toasty oak, pear, pineapple, melon and citrus. Medium to full-bodied, it's silky in feel across the mid-palate, then long and zesty-briny on the finish. It can be consumed young or after a decade of cellaring.
M.Chapoutier is a family winery founded in 1808 and currently led by the energetic and accomplished Michel Chapoutier. The winery now owns 175 hectares of vineyards in the Rhône Valley, as well as vineyards in several top AOC appellations, particularly in Hermitage. Since Michel took over the management of the winery, the quality of the wines has improved dramatically, and the winemaking philosophy has undergone a significant transformation. Michel Chapoutier's achievements have caused a sensation in the winemaking world. He completely transformed the production methods and procedures of M.Chapoutier's wines, ultimately enabling his wines to rival those of Marcel Guigal, the Rhône Valley's foremost winemaker. Under Michel's leadership, CHAPOUTIER has established itself as one of the leading wine merchants in the Rhône Valley. M. Chapoutier owns many of the region's finest vineyards. Furthermore, their wineries are spread across southern France and even in southern Australia.
Since 1989, M. Chapoutier has employed biodynamic farming and winemaking methods, aiming to produce wines that are purer and more authentic to their natural terroir. Every decision and step in the viticulture and winemaking process is designed to enhance the wine's terroir, varietal character, and vintage specificity. All wines from M. Chapoutier's vineyards are also produced using biodynamic principles, with no artificial yeasts or adjuvants, no bilging, and only minimal fermentation-stopping agents. Through the winemaker's precise control, the wine's natural flavors are fully realized, a climatic expression they describe as "letting the land speak in the wine."
M.Chapoutier’s outstanding wines include: Chateauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac, Cote Rotie La Mordorée, Hermitage L’ermite, Hermitage Le Meal, Hermitage L’ermite and Hermitage L’orée.
If you’ve ever tried M.Chapoutier wine, you’ll notice its label is unique because of the “raised dots” on it. There’s actually a lot of meaning behind this: the raised dots on the label are actually a simplified version of Braille.
You'll find Braille on every M.Chapoutier wine label. This isn't just because a blind member of the Chapoutier family greatly facilitated his involvement in the family wine business, it's also a tribute to Maurice Monier de La Sizeranne, the man who invented the simplified Braille system and helped many blind and visually impaired people overcome isolation. He was also an early owner of the Hermitage AOC in the Rhône Valley.
Another anecdote tells of how Chapoutier learned about the concerns of a blind friend of his when choosing wine. Chapoutier began experimenting with Braille on wine labels in 1993, finding success and subsequently applying it to nearly one million bottles of his own wines. The Braille information primarily includes information about the wine's origin, variety, vintage, and whether it's red or white.
