Les Greffieux
⏳ Drinking Window
2010 - 2035
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted rack of lamb, grilled ribeye steak, wild venison stew
✨ Technical Specifications
M. Chapoutier's 'Les Greffieux' is a masterful single-vineyard (sélection parcellaire) Hermitage that showcases the profound synergy between the Syrah grape and the historic Hermitage hill. Located at the base of this legendary granite dome, the Les Greffieux parcel features a unique terroir of alluvial deposits, clay, and round stones (galets) washed down over millennia. This specific soil composition yields a Syrah that is remarkably fleshy, velvety, and aromatic compared to its steeper, more austere granite neighbors. Cultivated under strict biodynamic principles, the grapes are hand-harvested at peak maturity, fully destemmed, and fermented in concrete tanks before spending 14 to 18 months maturing in oak casks. The history of Hermitage is steeped in tales of crusaders and royal courts, and this cuvée honors that legacy by delivering a wine of immense depth, characterized by dark berry fruit, licorice, and tapenade, wrapped in exceptionally polished tannins.
🍾 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
Syrah
🍷 ABV
13.5% - 14.5%