Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche, Rhone, France 2021

A small range of three Côte-Rôtie is made by the Ampuis based Levet family at their domaine, founded in 1929. Bernard Levet’s daughter Agnès has joined him and as elsewhere a new generation brings fresh impetus and an overhaul particularly of winemaking. The wines here though very much retain their traditional approach and are full of depth and character but also finely crafted and well made. The Levets have small plots spread across a number of sites with just over 4 ha under vine. The vine age varies but much of the vineyard is over 70 years of age, providing great intensity in the fruit. The vinification regime is to some extent driven by the wine and vine age.

The cuvée that we have imported from the outset (1983 vintage) is from the “Chavaroche” vineyard.  As explained above, this wine is aged for thirty to thirty-six months prior to bottling. It is, quite simply, a ferocious wine, unique in its uninhibited expression of the smells and flavors of the appellation. No compromise is brooked here. The result is a wine that is controversial, too “wild” for many but, for us, one of the most elite wines in our personal pantheon.