FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

ERMITAGE LESGREFFIEUX MICHEL CHAPOUTIER 2018 DRINK2028-2042

MEET THE GROWER Michel Chapoutier TAIN L’HERMITAGE Michel is one of the great Rhone Valley characters, if not all in all of French wine! This determined and single-mindedman took over the family business in the late 1980s and immediately begun biodynamic conversion - quite radical at the time. After 30 years his wines have never been better, and he maintains this. His main passion is terroir, andmore particularly schist stone and soil in his beloved Hermitage, and he takes a non-interventionist approach to wine-making, with a view that the wine should naturally express the character and quality of each and every vintage. To this end, he doesn’t acidify, chaptalise, fine or filter the wines, and through his biodynamic farming, there are no pesticides or artificial “help” in the vineyards. The results can be remarkable. Whenwe offered his 2019 vintage in Summer 2020 scores had yet to be released but his track record for these top wines has to be the best andmost consistent in the wine world. Tasting his 2019s we had no doubt of yet another stellar line up. Michel has achieved FIVE perfect 100 point scores for L’Ermite Rouge since 2010 (with 96+ the lowest score in the difficult 2013 vintage) and, almost unbelievable 15 perfect 100 points in the last 20 vintages for L’Ermite Blanc - old vine Marsanne that can keep for a century! This record certainly speaks for itself and we are thrilled to be a huge supporter.

RHÔNE NORTHERNRHÔNE

6x75 £498

Chapoutier’s 2018 Ermitage les Greffieux features faint herbal notes and red raspberries on the nose. Themost precocious of the 2018 Ermitage samples, it’s full-bodied yet silky—almost lush and creamy on the palate, with a long, peppery-spicy finish.

—JOECZERWINSKI

These are among the world’s greatest wines, especially the single vineyard wines, many of which will last 50 or more years.

—ROBERTPARKER

WA95-97 POINTS

68

WINE CATALOGUE