2009 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Les Granits Blanc

The 2009 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Blanc Les Granits, 100% Marsanne that was aged on lees for 10 months, is one thrilling bottle of wine! Gorgeously rich, with exotic tropical fruits, apricot, flower oil, honey, and wet stone like characteristics on the nose, this hits the palate with a full-bodied, decadent, yet beautifully fresh texture, fantastic concentration through the mid-palate, and riveting acidity that shines on the clean, dry finish. More ripe and exotic than both the De L'Orée and l’Ermite, with hints of honey and even some botrytis, this brilliant white will age gracefully for two decades or longer.

Bright gold. An exotically perfumed, smoky bouquet evokes ripe orchard fruits, candied orange and marzipan. Lush and creamy in texture, with palate-coating pear, peach and vanilla flavors enlivened by a sneaky mineral quality. Shows excellent focus on the broad, clinging finish. This wine could handle the richest foods with ease.

The selections parcellaires whites tasted include the 2009 St.-Joseph Les Granits Blanc (789 cases), which may be the “best buy” of all these selections parcellaires. This 100% Marsanne cuvee exhibits an amazing honeyed, orange marmalade character intermixed with notions of crushed rocks, spring flowers, quince, and white currants. Full-bodied and unctuously textured yet remarkably fresh and vibrant, it should drink nicely for 15-20 years. As I have written many times, all of these wines are produced from rigidly cultivated, bio-dynamically managed vineyards. That has been the rule since Michel Chapoutier first took over this firm in the late 1980s. Now, with over 20 years of biodynamic viticulture under his belt, Chapoutier remains committed to this rather radical style of organic farming. He believes the effect is to reduce rot in damp, rainy vintages. Moreover, he has observed that after 10 to 15 years of biodynamic farming, the natural acids tend to be more vivid and the overall pH of the soils (as well as the wines) has dropped. Controversial, outspoken and brutally candid, Chapoutier, who suffers no fools, continues to admirably produce wines that are among the finest in the world and potentially the longest lived. Refusing to acidify, chaptalize, or touch the wines in any way, he clearly wants every wine to capture the very essence of its terroir and vintage personality. In this, he succeeds remarkably. No one has made more effort in resurrecting the once-forgotten backwater appellation of St.-Peray than Michel Chapoutier. Working in conjunction with the famed Michelin three-star restaurant family, the Pics, Chapoutier has produced a sensational 2010 Gamme Pic and Chapoutier St.-Peray, and the first single-vineyard St.-Peray, the 2010 Lieu-Dit Peyrolles St.-Peray, which is one of the greatest St.-Perays I have ever tasted. This appellation is all steep hillside vineyards planted in pure, decomposed granite soils, not dissimilar from Hermitage, but they are located on the other side of the Rhone, facing the city of Valence. The single-vineyard wines, or selections parcellaires, 2010 whites are absolutely amazing, with production levels ranging from 300 to 700 or 800 cases of each cuvee. These wines are for true connoisseurs, as they are expensive and meant for long, long evolutions, but they capture the essence of a vintage and terroir as well as any wines in the world. As for the selections parcellaires of 2010 reds, Chapoutier likes this vintage almost as much as 2009, but feels it is very different, emphasizing more acidity and minerality, whereas 2009 is a combination of pure power, concentration and great potential longevity. Michel Chapoutier considers the 2009s, which are all in bottle, to be among the greatest wines he has ever produced, equaling his finest wines of 2006, 2003, 1999, 1990 and 1989 (his debut year). Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900