Reviews
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
-Wine Spectator -
-Vinous -
Technical Details
- 100% Syrah
- Michel Chapoutier and Marc Chapoutier
- France
- Rhône Valley
- Northern Rhône
- Hermitage
- Méal Vineyard (Le Méal hillside), features 50 year old vines on a south-facing slope of high terraces of fluvioglacial alluvial shingles and clay
- Organic and Biodynamic practices. Certified organic (AB / Agriculture Biologique) and certified biodynamic under Demeter and Biodyvin (since 2012).
- new and one-year-old French oak
- Destemmed and fermented in small cement vats with high-temperature maceration to extract soft, stable tannins. Only the free-run juice is selected for this single-vineyard bottling.
- 14 to 18 months in new or one-year-old French oak
- 14%
M. Chapoutier Rouge Le Méal Hermitage 2014
Organic and Biodynamic practices. Certified organic (AB / Agriculture Biologique) and certified biodynamic under Demeter and Biodyvin (since 2012).
20% OFF RETAIL!
Le Méal is one of the most distinctive lieux-dits on the Hermitage hill, a south-facing slope of decomposed granite and gneiss soils at the summit, where Chapoutier farms 100-year-old Syrah vines biodynamically, harvesting by hand and vinifying in small cement vats with high-temperature maceration to extract soft and stable tannins, using only free-run juice and aging in a modest 25% new oak to let the site rather than the cellar do the talking. Michel Chapoutier converted the entire estate to biodynamic viticulture in 1991, decades before it became fashionable, and the Le Méal is the most concentrated and structured expression in his single-parcel Hermitage lineup. The 2014 drew Wine Advocate 95 (with an upward revision to 97+), Wine Spectator 95, and Vinous 93. Wine Advocate described an inky colored wine with liqueur of blackberry, wood smoke, licorice, smoked herbs and black raspberries, big, rich, full-bodied and layered with building tannin, calling it a candidate for 2 to 4 years of cellaring and excellent drinking over the following two decades. Wine Spectator described fleshy, broad mulberry and blackberry with sage, anise, and bramble. Now over 11 years from harvest, this is opening beautifully and drinking through 2031. The price here is incredibly good for a single-parcel Hermitage of this pedigree. Grab it now.