Every year, Michel Chapoutier launches his Rhône single-vineyard wines way before his neighbours, and bang in the middle of the Bordeaux en primeur campaign to boot. You have to admire his chutzpah. Chapoutier never was a shrinking violet, and his wines are just as bold.
I’ll be visiting the Rhône in October this year to taste the 2023 vintage in more detail, working my way through every appellation, both north and south. In the meantime, this tasting always acts as a tantalising scent on the wind, a whisper of what’s to come.
