Fac et Spera – Do and Hope
This is the motto of the family who is now renowned worldwide for much more than its wines. The house is a representation of respect and audacity with values that are pushed forward into each and every decision. Hermitage is truly a special place. Not only is it breath-taking but you can feel the community around it and the work that is put in every parcel, every step, and every vine on the hill. It is the first place the sun reach in the morning and the last place it leaves. We stayed on top of hermitage waiting for the sunset but had to wait forever since the sun and heat kept on forever.
Hermitage is the only place in the world where the four geological ages are visible from afar starting with granite from the primary time. This offers a diversity of terroir in a very limited space that is unique and can’t be found anywhere else. Even with the Prestige of the region and it being the birthplace of the very fashionable syrah, some producers are confessing having trouble selling hermitage wines. It’s hard to pinpoint the reason; it may be from lack of modernism or impactful marketing, from how emerging and very dynamic Côte-Rotie has become lately or from the ever growing international market. Hermitage is still and will stay a special iconic place representing the heart of northern Rhône but there will be place for other region to shine like Saint-Joseph with its incredible age worthy whites.
This is the parcel “les greffieux” from Domaine Chapoutier. This was the very first day of the harvest and dozens of cheerful pickers were arriving with buckets and smiles to work under the shining sun.
According to Michel Chapoutier: «to propose an appellation d’origine contrôlée is to propose above all an expression of the terroir». This man has a strong respect for the terroir, the soil and the pure expression of vines. This is why he started working on Biodynamy as soon as 1991. It was one of the first decisions he made when he took the head of the estate in 1990.
