1993 Michel Chapoutier, Cuvée de l’Orée, Ermitage - Hermitage - 1 Bottle (0.75L)

Hermitage Ermitage de l'Orée Chapoutier 1993

Maison Chapoutier, undoubtedly one of the best-known names in the Rhône Valley, produces its most prestigious bottles under the Hermitage appellation. The estate covers nearly 300 hectares of vines converted to biodynamics. To date, it is the largest vineyard in France to have adopted this farming method, and this since receiving certification in 1999. Chapoutier is often the last to harvest his vines, in order to achieve optimal grape maturity. Chapoutier's know-how has also extended to other vineyards: Provence, Beaujolais, Roussillon, Champagne, Alsace, Portugal but also the south of Australia.

The family history began in 1808, but it was really in 1879 that its contours took shape, when Polydor Chapoutier bought a few hectares of vines to become a vintner and merchant. Since then, seven generations have succeeded one another, up to Michel Chapoutier. He now hands the reins to his children Mathilde (in commerce and communications) and Maxime (in the vineyards and the cellar). Together, they perpetuate the family heritage with the aim of highlighting the typicities of the great Rhodanian terroirs.

Read the Journal article on the Chapoutier estate

About the cuvée
It was in the 18th century that the name Hermitage appeared in memory of a knight who, returning from the crusades (13th century) and tired of war, would have lived as a hermit on a hill granted by Blanche of Castile, Queen of France. He would have planted a vineyard there. The Hermitage blanc de l'Orée comes from old vines (average age about 80 years) with very low yields, ensuring high-quality production. Barrel aging lasts a little under a year, on lees with regular batonages. This exceptional white wine develops complex and subtle aromas of quince, walnut, honey, acacia with a note of linden. The richness on the palate gives way to a fresh finish, and to an impressive finish.