2017 M Chapoutier La Ciboise
Tasting notes
Appearance: bright, deep, dark garnet.
Nose: intense with notes of ripe fruit (blackcurrants/raspberries).
Palate: delicious and full. The ripe fruit and soft spices come through again on the palate. Pronounced yet soft, delicate tannins.
Food Pairings: roast rabbit, Provençal tart or ribs of beef.
Grape variety/varieties:Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Carignan.
Harvest: The grapes are picked at phenolic maturity and harvested by machine.
Soil: The soil is made up of pebbles deposited by the Rhône river during the Quaternary Period and referred to locally as “Gress”. The vines develop a very deep rooting system, digging down as far as the layers of clay.
Vinification: After destemming, the grapes are fermented in concrete tanks for three to four weeks. Each grape variety is vinified separately using traditional maceration. After a daily tasting, the wine will either be pumped over or left to rest, in order to gently extract the aromatic components, anthocyanins and tannins. At the end of alcoholic fermentation, the temperature is allowed to increase to 30-33°C to assist the polymerization of the tannins.
About M. Chapoutier
The story began with Michel Chapoutier, a unique man with a thirst for knowledge, definitely one of a kind. Michel is openminded and always willing to learn. He seeks to discover and reflect the full potential of his terroirs and let the soils express their true character. That which gives the wines their signature style. This now forms the basis of the M. CHAPOUTIER ethos and our team strives to reveal the very best of what the soils have to offer.
No name is more closely associated with the greatness of the Rhone valley than M. 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.
Tasting notes
Appearance: bright, deep, dark garnet.
Nose: intense with notes of ripe fruit (blackcurrants/raspberries).
Palate: delicious and full. The ripe fruit and soft spices come through again on the palate. Pronounced yet soft, delicate tannins.
Food Pairings: roast rabbit, Provençal tart or ribs of beef.
Grape variety/varieties:Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Carignan.
Harvest: The grapes are picked at phenolic maturity and harvested by machine.