Invitare
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Pan-seared scallops, creamy chicken fricassee, mild Thai green curry
✨ Technical Specifications
Invitare is M. Chapoutier's acclaimed expression of the Condrieu appellation, a legendary white wine enclave in the northern Rhône Valley. The name Invitare translates from Latin as 'an invitation,' reflecting the wine's welcoming, highly aromatic, and seductive character. Sourced from steep, terraced granite slopes that define the Condrieu terroir, this wine is crafted entirely from Viognier. The grapes are hand-harvested from low-yielding vines, ensuring concentration and purity. To preserve its delicate floral aromas while adding texture and complexity, a portion of the juice is fermented and aged in demi-muids (large oak barrels), while the rest is kept in stainless steel vats. The resulting wine is a masterclass in balance, showcasing the classic peach, apricot, and violet notes of Viognier supported by a distinct mineral backbone born from the ancient granitic soils.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1808 in Tain-l'Hermitage, Maison M. Chapoutier was transformed into a global benchmark for terroir-driven viticulture after Michel Chapoutier took charge in 1990. Operating on the motto 'Fac & Spera' (Do and Hope), the estate became an early, outspoken pioneer of biodynamic farming in 1991 across its extensive estate vineyards. Rooted along the granite terraces, fluvioglacial alluvial soils, and limestone outcrops of the northern and southern Rhône Valley, Chapoutier crafts transparent, single-vineyard bottlings (sélections parcellaires) alongside international ventures in regions like Portugal's Douro Valley. Winemaking favors indigenous yeasts, gentle extraction, and minimal intervention to preserve purity of origin, often eschewing new wood in favor of neutral oak casks or concrete vats. Benchmark cuvées—famed for their tactile Braille labeling introduced in 1994—include Hermitage icons such as Le Méal Blanc, De l'Orée, Les Greffieux, and Côte-Rôtie's La Mordorée, epitomizing tension, minerality, and structural longevity.
🍇 Grapes
Viognier
🍷 ABV
13.5-14%