M. Chapoutier Neve

AOP Côte-Rôtie, Rhône

2018

Tasting Notes

The color is very deep and black with tints of satin. The first nose is dominated by notes of graphite and cold smoke and then opens up to notes of bramble leaves and mixed berries. The palate is compact upon entry, with chiseled tannins and notes of black pepper and roasting over a saline finish.

Food Pairings

Pair with flakes of roast small game on toast, an open sandwich of roasted fowl with black truffle.

Winemaking Notes

The grapes are harvested by hand at maturity. Vinification takes place in rough concrete tanks. The harvested grapes are completely de-stemmed. Native yeasts are used for the alcoholic fermentation. During the fermentation, the temperature is allowed to gradually rise to 30- 32°C. The vatting period lasts from 4 to 5 weeks with regular pumping over operations carried out at the start of the maceration, followed by some cap punching. Ageing is carried out entirely in 228-litre barrels (pieces bourguignonnes), of which 25-30% are new. The wine is racked at the end of the winter. Ageing can last 14-18 months depending upon the vintage and our tastings of the wine.

Vineyard Notes

This wine comes from the hillside with a lovely southsoutheast exposure in a lieu-dit known as Neve in the commune of Amppuis. The soil here is composed of schist and mica-schist, with some seams of ground soil in the mid-section of the hillside.