From: Northern Rhône Valley, France
Varietal: Syrah
Critical Acclaim: 98 points Vinous
"Opaque violet color. Expansive blackberry, kirsch, licorice, smoky bacon and potpourri aromas are complemented by a vibrant mineral overtone. Taut and sharply focused on the palate, offering deeply concentrated, smoke-laced black and blue fruit liqueur, olive paste, black cardamom and floral pastille flavors that deepen steadily through the back half. Finishes extremely long and precise, with repeating mineral, floral and dark fruit characters and youthfully solid tannins. This bottling is up there with the best wines that I have ever had from this domaine, and I am familiar with their work going back to their 1983 vintage. (JR)"(12/2022)
About. Nicole Levet’s grandfather first purchased vineyards in Ampuis in 1936 and began making wine immediately thereafter. Initially, he delivered his Cote Rotie in barrels to the city of St. Etienne where he sold it to bistros and cafes for consumption by the miners of that city. In 1966, Nicole’s father, Marius Chambeyron, began to bottle a small portion of the production of the estate. Importer Neal Rosenthal first encountered Marius Chambeyron in 1982 as he prospected in the region. He was a proud and somewhat brazen man who, despite the tiny size of his estate, proudly painted his name on the rocks that fronted the terraces of his small swath of vineyards as in the manner of the seigneurs of the appellation like Guigal, Delas and Vidal-Fleury. As wthey were preparing to begin their commercial relationship, Monsieur Chambeyron took ill and they never had the opportunity to bring his wines to the States. Fortunately, his daughter, Nicole, and her husband, Bernard Levet, were prepared to continue Chambeyron’s life’s work. It was with the formidable 1983 vintage that Bernard Levet took over the wine production as well as the management of the vineyard with Nicole. This exceptional couple has now been responsible for the development of the domaine, increasing the vineyard holdings and expanding the cellar capacity so that they can now bottle their entire production. Nicole and Bernard have now been joined by their daughter, Agnes, who has inherited the love for vineyard work and obsession with detail that are essential parts of her parents’ character.
