Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A refined, textural and vibrant Ermitage white with so much restrained power. There is a saltiness here. Dried lemons, quince peel, grilled almonds, white peaches, wet stones, wild herbs and white flowers mingle successively on the nose. It’s medium-bodied yet it has a gigantic dimension. It’s all contained, restrained and funneled into the precise, highly textural and tense palate. Succulent, with baked lemon character and a long, long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Hints of honeyed peaches join ripe apricot and melon on the nose of Chapoutier's superb 2021 Ermitage de l'Orée. As always, it's 100% Marsanne from the clay soils of the Les Murets lieu-dit. Medium to full-bodied, it's ripe and succulent, with a long, briny and refreshing finish. It may be closing down by now, so try to hold off opening a bottle until around 2030—or allow several hours for decanting.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Showing similarly to last year and all Marsanne brought up mostly in demi-muids, the 2021 Ermitage De L'Orée is vibrant and focused, which is very much in the style of the vintage, with a kiss of clean reduction in its orange blossom, green almond, white flower, and subtly honeyed mineral-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, fresh, focused, yet nicely concentrated, it will evolve for 10-15 years.
Rating: 95+ -
Vinous
Prominent struck match, lemon peel, acacia, ripe pear, yellow apple and vanilla traces introduce the sapid 2021 Ermitage Blanc De L'Orée. Full-bodied and rich, yet neatly maintaining elegance and freshness, the 2021 delivers a terrific expression of old-vine expression from the historic Hermitage appellation. It should drink well over the next decade.
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Wine Spectator
Broad, complex and wonderfully rich, with a core of lemon oil and orchard fruit merging with a smoky mineral layer and earth detail. Salted butter graces the savory palate, while bitter grapefruit pith adds firm tautness and focus to the lengthy, energetic finish. Drink now through 2038.
No name is more closely associated with the greatness of the Rhone valley than Chapoutier.
The history of the Chapoutier family stretches back to the early nineteenth century when current owner Michel Chapoutier's great-, great-, great-grandfather Marius purchased an estate and some vineyards in the now famous village of Tain l'Hermitage in the Northern Rhône Valley. Marius Chapoutier made history in the region when he became the first grape grower there to vinify his own fruit. Marius had tasted wines other winemakers produced using his fruit and he realized that something was lost in translation, so to speak. He knew that he owned some of the best growing sites in the appellation and he believed — rightly — that the grapes grown in his vineyards could produce long-lived world-class wines. In a move unusual at the time, he decided that he should make the wine himself. Not only did the quality of the wines increase greatly, but this move provided the capital to expand the Chapoutiers’ already legendary estate.
A visionary and pioneer in biodynamic winemaking, his restless energy and unconditional commitment to quality have produced tremendous success, with the most 90+ point ratings of all Rhône producers and 16 "100 point" rated wines.
Sothis Gin is distilled from grapes and plants grown near the vineyards. This family domaine is cultivated using biodynamic practices in which plants play a central role. In their wild state they offer M. Chapoutier a better understanding of the soils. When used in vine treatments they help to nourish plant life and support plant growth. They have selected a few of these plants in order to offer a new perspective of their terroirs, the story of a gin originating from the Tain l’Hermitage vineyards and their floral heritage. They have been honing this recipe for many months under the watchful eye of Sothis, the star and also the ancient Goddess who teaches us that cultivating the land is a means of moving closer to the stars.
One of the star whites of the Rhône Valley and ubiquitous throughout southern France, historically vignerons have favored Marsanne for its hardy and productive vines. It can make a fruity and delicious single varietal wine as well as a serious, full-bodied version with amazing aging potential. The best examples of Marsanne come from the northern Rhone appellations where it is also blended with Roussanne. Sommelier Secret—Some of the oldest Marsanne vines in the entire world exist not in France but in Australia, in the Victoria region. Settlers planted it in the mid to late 1800s, calling it “white Hermitage.”
One of the smallest and most important Syrah regions of northern Rhone, Hermitage is practically one single south-facing slope of crushed granite, thinly covered with varied, yet well-charted soil types. Many climats (well identified parcels) exist within Hermitage and while some smaller producers make single climat Syrahs, some larger ones blend to make one balanced expression of the appellation.
Though the AC regulations allow the addition of up to 15% white grapes to a red Hermitage, in practice it is usually made from Syrah alone. Winemaking is pretty traditional—or you might say historic—with hot fermentations and aging in older barrels of various sizes. The best wines, characterized by deep, dense and sexy flavors of black fruit, cocoa, licorice and tobacco, have massive textures and a solid 10-20 years aging potential.
The region of Hermitage is totally enclosed; the only place it could go really is to literally fall down its own hill into the city of Tain or the Rhone River. Soil erosion is a problem and terraces exist alongside the hill in order to keep the earth in place. Crozes-Hermitage encloses the region entirely to its north and south.
While Hermitage seems synonymous with some of the best Syrah on the planet, actually about one third of the wine produced here comes from white grapes. The full, lush and robust Marsanne or the less common, but almost more charming, Roussanne create wonderful whites in which the best have great potential for aging, like the reds.