Like you, I am so ready to get back to enjoying a superb meal and drinking fine wine in the company of good friends. With increasing vaccinations and Covid lockdowns receding into what will hopefully be a bad, distant memory, DouxVin is pleased to begin a series of grand 2021 wine experiences.
Spectacular Chapoutier Dinner
First up is a spectacular dinner featuring the premier wines of legendary Rhone producer; Chapoutier, hosted by renowned Master Sommelier, Peter Neptune.
We will showcase the exceptional and highly-regarded 2018 release (Rated 97-100 Points) of some of the Rhone’s best; considered among the world’s greatest and a mainstay of wine connoisseurs. DouxVin was fortunate to secure a limited allocation of these highly coveted, difficult to access wines (all of which will be available at the event for you to add to your collection as well as a special selection of back vintage wines).
Harvest notes from Michel Chapoutier at the conclusion of the 2018 harvest:
In the Rhone Valley, who would have predicted that this 2018 vintage would cause such joy and rank among the remarkable Rhone Valley vintages that have come on one after another since 2015? With strong rains and heat waves, this was a vintage full of intensity with doubts until the exceptionally hot September. This was a vintage where we had to react to relieve these heat waves, but this led to prodigious wines with great aging potential, with preserved acidity and silky tannins.
2018 M. Chapoutier Selection Parcellaires Showcase
(Points & Reviews by Jeb Dunnock)
St-Joseph Les Granits Blanc: 97 Points. Very good balance on the palate with anise tones and a hint of bitterness that gives a good tension.
Chapoutier de l'Orée Ermitage Blanc: 98+ Points. Behind a fine lees reduction, tension is fully emerging. The power of the Marsanne on the entry elaborates the mid-palate smoothness.
Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal Blanc: 98 Points. A moderate and sharp Méal by its mineral tensions and celery note. The acidity is outstanding for this terroir, the balance is close to perfection, and a persistence that is already unmistakable. Our personal favorite!
Chapoutier Ermitage L'Ermite Blanc: 100 Points. Monolith granite, the wine takes on the spicy notes that blend to perfection with those of crushed stones and graphite. The minerality expresses magnificently, an exceptional wine with salinity and a fine expression of its terroir.
Saint-Joseph Les Granits Rouge: 96 Points. Powerful, dark, singular. Balance is given by pencil lead reduction, bitumen and ink notes, fabulous potential!
Le Méal Ermitage Rouge: 99 Points. Particularly sleek for this solar vintage, iodine notes emerge from the wine to complement its more traditional notes of blackberry sauce. The freshness preservation gives a great balance and a rare elegance.
Le Pavillon Ermitage Rouge: 99 Points. The nobility of tannins is impressive by the tension it creates. The aromatic structure with hints of China ink, graphite and black pepper suggest that the best is yet to come.
Accompanied by The French Club’s Chef Lionel’s exceptional cuisine, I invite you to join Peter and me for what promises to be an entertaining and educational bacchanal as we tour through the wines and food of this most interesting wine region.
— Warren
French Club 414 Mason St Ste 801 San Francisco, CA 94102
