Wine Article
2012 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche / La Péroline
Last edited on 3/24/2017 by rralls
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Occasionally, a wine is so good that it’s best to skip the lengthy preamble and just cut to the chase. With today’s wine, the truth is best expressed simply and bluntly: Just buy this puppy. Take my word that in doing so, you are locking down one of the most complex, enthrallingly aromatic and downright stunning Côte-Rôties we’ve ever offered.
I mean it: This bottle is insane! One sip proves that it’s an instant classic, a perfect ‘10,’ and a convincing testament to why Domaine Levet’s extremely limited-production reds (40 cases in the US last we checked!) are among the most coveted wines in the northern Rhône.
We’ve shared before how the launching of this website coincided with a steep global increase in the demand for top-tier northern Rhône Syrah, especially for cult producers like Jamet (Côte-Rôtie) and Allemand (Cornas). Prices have skyrocketed while availability has evaporated, and even small family estates that formerly flew under the radar are now universally recognized by the press and in high-demand with Sommeliers and collectors. So, the “good old days” of easily cherry-picking top wines from the northern Rhône are officially over—which is why we are doubly excited to offer today's wine. This bottle is produced in a bedroom-sized cellar and is considered the top wine from one of my all-time favorite micro-producers in Côte-Rôtie.
Bernard Levet farms 3.5 hectares of vines above the village of Ampuis. He owns vines in some of the most prestigious real estate in the Côte-Rôtie appellation, including the famed parcels “Moulin” and “Landonne.” (You might be familiar with the latter vineyard site, made famous by E. Guigal, whose La Landonne bottling of the same vintage retails for $300-$400.). These properties have been in the family since the 1930s and today they are still farmed in exactly the same manner: no tractors, no chemicals, and everything is done by hand. This particular bottling, the Côte-Rôtie “La Chavaroche,” is considered the family’s top wine. Legendary importer Neal Rosenthal says “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...one of the most elite wines in our personal pantheon.” We couldn’t agree more.
In 2012, fruit was harvested by hand and left entirely in whole clusters before fermentation in large tanks. The process of macerating the grapes and carrying the juice through alcoholic and malolactic fermentation at this property is never rushed and often does not complete until the new year. Following fermentation, the wine spends 9 months in large oak foudres. Next, the wine is aged in medium-sized demi-muid barrels, 10% of which are new oak, for an additional year. Finally, Chavaroche is racked into a mix of demi-muids and small barrels for one last year before bottling and further aging until release—the entire process generally takes 4 years. This gradual, delicate approach in the cellar produces wines that are incredibly nuanced, aromatic, and perfect for extended aging.
Nicole and Bernard Levet’s 2012 "La Chavaroche" overflows with everything I seek in Côte-Rôtie. Even before you put your nose in the glass, it is erupting with dark currant and cherry fruit, blackberries, air-dried sausage and guanciale, Turkish coffee, oil-cured black olives, wild sage and lavender, fine cigar tobacco...and, as always with Levet, an exotic mix of Asian and North African spices. This is one of the most aromatically intoxicating Côte-Rôties I’ve ever opened. It’s stunning. In the glass, the wine has a concentrated garnet and purple center transitioning to a garnet rim. The palate is medium-full to full bodied, with a richness and depth that immediately puts this 2012 vintage on my short list of favorite Levet vintages. This wine leaps out of the bottle immediately, but I found it only improved over three days. So, if pouring for guests, feel free to decant for one or two hours or enjoy it slowly, yourself. I love Côte-Rôtie with lamb—and especially with Levet’s lively aromas this persian spiced lamb shank recipe is the ideal companion. Cheers!
I mean it: This bottle is insane! One sip proves that it’s an instant classic, a perfect ‘10,’ and a convincing testament to why Domaine Levet’s extremely limited-production reds (40 cases in the US last we checked!) are among the most coveted wines in the northern Rhône.
We’ve shared before how the launching of this website coincided with a steep global increase in the demand for top-tier northern Rhône Syrah, especially for cult producers like Jamet (Côte-Rôtie) and Allemand (Cornas). Prices have skyrocketed while availability has evaporated, and even small family estates that formerly flew under the radar are now universally recognized by the press and in high-demand with Sommeliers and collectors. So, the “good old days” of easily cherry-picking top wines from the northern Rhône are officially over—which is why we are doubly excited to offer today's wine. This bottle is produced in a bedroom-sized cellar and is considered the top wine from one of my all-time favorite micro-producers in Côte-Rôtie.
Bernard Levet farms 3.5 hectares of vines above the village of Ampuis. He owns vines in some of the most prestigious real estate in the Côte-Rôtie appellation, including the famed parcels “Moulin” and “Landonne.” (You might be familiar with the latter vineyard site, made famous by E. Guigal, whose La Landonne bottling of the same vintage retails for $300-$400.). These properties have been in the family since the 1930s and today they are still farmed in exactly the same manner: no tractors, no chemicals, and everything is done by hand. This particular bottling, the Côte-Rôtie “La Chavaroche,” is considered the family’s top wine. Legendary importer Neal Rosenthal says “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...one of the most elite wines in our personal pantheon.” We couldn’t agree more.
In 2012, fruit was harvested by hand and left entirely in whole clusters before fermentation in large tanks. The process of macerating the grapes and carrying the juice through alcoholic and malolactic fermentation at this property is never rushed and often does not complete until the new year. Following fermentation, the wine spends 9 months in large oak foudres. Next, the wine is aged in medium-sized demi-muid barrels, 10% of which are new oak, for an additional year. Finally, Chavaroche is racked into a mix of demi-muids and small barrels for one last year before bottling and further aging until release—the entire process generally takes 4 years. This gradual, delicate approach in the cellar produces wines that are incredibly nuanced, aromatic, and perfect for extended aging.
Nicole and Bernard Levet’s 2012 "La Chavaroche" overflows with everything I seek in Côte-Rôtie. Even before you put your nose in the glass, it is erupting with dark currant and cherry fruit, blackberries, air-dried sausage and guanciale, Turkish coffee, oil-cured black olives, wild sage and lavender, fine cigar tobacco...and, as always with Levet, an exotic mix of Asian and North African spices. This is one of the most aromatically intoxicating Côte-Rôties I’ve ever opened. It’s stunning. In the glass, the wine has a concentrated garnet and purple center transitioning to a garnet rim. The palate is medium-full to full bodied, with a richness and depth that immediately puts this 2012 vintage on my short list of favorite Levet vintages. This wine leaps out of the bottle immediately, but I found it only improved over three days. So, if pouring for guests, feel free to decant for one or two hours or enjoy it slowly, yourself. I love Côte-Rôtie with lamb—and especially with Levet’s lively aromas this persian spiced lamb shank recipe is the ideal companion. Cheers!