Les Granilites Blanc
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2030
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted chicken, grilled sea bass, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ Technical Specifications
M. Chapoutier's 'Les Granilites' Blanc is a masterful expression of the Saint-Joseph appellation, crafted entirely from Marsanne grapes grown on steep, south-facing granitic slopes. The name 'Les Granilites' directly references this stony, mineral-rich granite terroir, which provides a distinctive structural tension and flinty backbone to the wine. Historically, the wines of Saint-Joseph were celebrated as the 'vin de Mauves' and were famously praised by Victor Hugo in his masterpiece, Les Misérables. To preserve the purity of the fruit and the unique signature of the soil, the wine is fermented and aged on its fine lees in a combination of stainless steel tanks and large oak demi-muids. This meticulous process yields a beautifully textured white wine, balancing rich notes of white peach, apricot, and acacia flowers with a vibrant, saline minerality.
🍾 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
100% Marsanne
🍷 ABV
13-13.5%