Chapoutier is one of the oldest names in the Rhone valley. Founded in 1808 by the Calvet family, it was sold to the Chapoutier family in 1855. The Calvet family sold the company to focus on their large, expanding negociant firm in Bordeaux.
Polydore Chapoutier was the first of the Chapoutier family to head the company, and the only head of the firm not to have a name that started with the letter M. That tradition began with the next generation, started by Marius Chapoutier.
Today, Chapoutier is a massive negociant and winery located in the Rhone valley their offices are situated in the small community of Tain Hermitage. Chapoutier is both a negociant and winemaker.
They are active all over the Rhone valley in every major appellation. Chapoutier makes great wine at every price level, from very expensive wines at the top end, to value wines from Cotes du Rhone.
99 Points Robert Parker Wine Advocate
More tight and reserved than the open-knit Le Meal Blanc, the 2006 Ermitage Cuvee de l’Oree offers a heavenly bouquet of caramelized orchard fruits, celery seed, buttered hazelnuts, orange blossom and white flowers. Just crazy good on the palate, with full-bodied richness and a seamless, unctuous texture, it has incredible purity, precision and length, with this liquid rock-like minerality on the finish. It’s just about as good as it gets, and while it’s drinking great today, it should keep for 2-3 decades.