Today is hump day and with hump day comes a tasting note! Enjoy!
During the same visit to the local wine store when I purchased the Bernard Latour (see older post) I purchased this wine from M. Chapoutier. A much larger producer with wines from many areas in the Rhone this wine is from a lesser know area, Crozes-Hermitage in the Northern Rhone region where the red wine is made from 100% Syrah. In a very general sense the wines from the Crozes-Hermitage are lesser quality then the wines from Hermitage and Cote-Rotie. Still a place where you can likely find hidden gems.... however, this M. Chapoutier is not one of them.
2008 M. Chapoutier, Petite Ruche, Syrah, Crozes-Hermitage
consumed Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010 with love, Retail $28.00
The wine itself was okay and the price was not. I enjoyed the Bernard Latour from the Southern Rhone much more and for $10 dollars less. As I venture deeper and deeper into wine I'm really starting to get a little understanding on pricing. I will elaborate here, these are my own opinions and what I think in this particular case. M. Chapoutier produces wine from basically every appellation in the Rhone. The different labels and wines are quite many. For instance, a 2007 Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal Syrah (Hermitage) can fetch $170 dollar bottle depending on where you are buying it. After some research I found that you can get the wine I had above (Petite Ruche) for around $18, in my opinion, more in the likeness of its apparent value. I think the place I purchased this wine from took advantage of the name behind the bottle and marked it up quite nicely. Do I feel ripped off? Not really, I had been wanting to try a M. Chapoutier wine for some time after reading about the Rhone in my wine bible, I was able to find that wine at a local wine store and purchased it on impulse. I came to the wine store not looking for anything in particular and then I saw the Chapoutier. I paid for the luxury of buying that wine, that day, and consuming it that night versus purchasing it, and having it shipped. Okay, what's the point? Wine prices don't necessarily reflect the actually quality of that wine. Wow, that was a little more long winded than expected.
The Tasting:
The wine had nice red fruit on the front, cherry, with a little plum, and a earthy aroma. The finish was short and sweet with an odd after taste. I couldn't pin point what the taste was, just bitterness. Overall, an okay wine not worth $28. It will not deter me from trying another Chapoutier, however.
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