M. Chapoutier - Ermitage De L'Orée blanc 2013

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Great nose, still fermenting, pear-like, full-bodied, harmonious, very noble texture, slightly limited finish, great future.

About the domain :

Today, Michel Chapoutier is ably supported by his children Mathilde and Maxime, to run the most important wine house in the Northern Rhône, and a long-standing specialist in Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage. Chapoutier is not only a major wine merchant, but also a producer of top-flight domaine cuvées, as the estate's vines have long been cultivated biodynamically. Sélections parcellaires, the top-of-the-range wines, perfectly reflect Chapoutier's philosophy: parcel-based, single-varietal and produced every year, they are above all a reflection of the terroir, in all its good aspects and sometimes its excesses.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the domain :

This venerable (19th c.) and unmissable house, brought into international orbit by Michel Chapoutier in the 1990s, offers a wide range from its own vineyards (345 ha, biodynamic) or purchased grapes, in most of the Rhône Valley's leading appellations, as well as in Roussillon and Alsace. His children, Mathilde and Maxime, have recently joined the family adventure.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Leading the pack of three vintage Hermitage white wines, the stunning Ermitage Cuvée de l'Orée 2013 boasts a stunning bouquet that includes just about everything you can think of when talking about white Hermitage. White peach, white flowers, almond paste, quince and wet rock are just some of the nuances present. On the palate, the wine is very powerful, with full-bodied richness, a flamboyant, expansive texture and fascinating concentration and purity. To be enjoyed over the next two or three decades.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

Under the Maison M. Chapoutier address, we bring together wines from the trading activities of this two-hundred-year-old institution in Tain-l'Hermitage. Michel Chapoutier, now accompanied by his daughter Mathilde, offers a wide range of Rhône appellations, with a production volume approaching one million bottles. But the Chapoutier name is also present in other regions (Champagne, Alsace, Languedoc and Australia), a testament to the family's dynamism. While some cuvées are convincing, others are far more unspectacular. This heterogeneity has led us to withdraw the star from the house this year.

Wine Spectator

Jancis Robinson

About the wine:

Deep, coppery gold. Heady nose of flowers and lilies. Stone fruit on the palate. Neutral and complete, already highly evolved. Very charming - manages to combine body and freshness. A real triumph. Although a little lighter than many vintages.

Vinous A. Galloni

About the wine:

Light yellow-gold. An impressively complex bouquet evokes ripe citrus and orchard fruits, iodine and white flowers, and a hint of smoky minerals emerges in the air. The palate is sapid, penetrating and concentrated, offering intense flavors of Meyer lemon, quince, ginger and sweet butter that deepen and expand on the second half of the mouth. Powerful and deeply concentrated, yet graceful, it finishes with superb energy and lingering floral and mineral notes. The vines from which this wine is made are located in the Les Murets vineyard.

Jeb Dunnuck