Les Bécasses Côte-Rôtie

Small game (pheasant, duck) Tender, red meat Dishes in red wine sauces Soft cheeses.

The story began with Michel Chapoutier a unique man with a thirst for knowledge definitely one of a kind. Michel is openminded and always willing to learn. He seeks to discover and reflect the full potential of his terroirs and let the soils express their true character. That which gives the wines their signature style. This now forms the basis of the M. CHAPOUTIER ethos and our team strives to reveal the very best of what the soils have to offer.

The soil is composed of chlorite and ferruginous mica-schist blending in loess depressions. The soil is also made up of schist on the South and Southeast slopes, allowing the Syrah to express itself with tremendous power and great elegance with its lovely floral notes.

Ageing lasts 14-16 months. 80% of the wine is aged in oak barrels with a majority of new wood. The remaining 20% are aged in stainless steel vats which allows us to preserve the purity of the fruit and the floral notes, which are a distinctive feature of great Côte-Rôtie wines.

After destemming, the grapes go into concrete tanks. Daily punching (pigeage) ensures a good extraction of colour and tannins. The temperature does not exceed 33°C. Fermentation lasts between 3 and 4 weeks depending on the vintage. For fermentation, we decided to use indigenous yeasts to allow our terroirs to begin expressing themselves from this key stage in the winemaking process.