M Chapoutier masterclass: DFWE NYC 2024

As the sun glimmered on the Hudson River, glinting off skyscrapers and filling the 60th floor of the Manhatta building with light, masterclass guests hung on legendary Rhône winemaker Michel Chapoutier’s every word.

Head of his family’s M Chapoutier winery, he launched into an impassioned, swooping discussion, weaving soil analysis, ampelography, the golden ratio, epigenetics (the ability of the plant to adapt its own genetics), the emotional intelligence of plants, rootstocks, vintage conditions, food pairings and his winemaking philosophy into an engaging, compelling and evocative performance.

Only the Jimi Hendrix of wine could capture an audience in such a way.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of the eight wines tasted at Decanter’s M Chapoutier masterclass

Unlocking the secrets of terroir

If there is any winemaker qualified to talk about terroir, it is Michel Chapoutier. With his Sélections Parcellaires wines, he aims to showcase the unique song that different soils and vineyard sites can sing when given the chance.

To wine lovers today, this may seem an obvious conviction for a winemaker to have. After all, it is often a central part of their narrative. But, said Chapoutier during the masterclass, 40 years ago this wasn’t the case; generally soil wasn’t considered that important in the notion of terroir.

So he set out, not to try and make the best wines, but to try and take the best snapshot possible of an individual terroir. ‘Quite comfortable for a lazy winemaker like me,’ he told guests.

While there are 17 Sélections Parcellaires wines in the M Chapoutier universe – across the appellations of Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage, St-Joseph, Cornas, Condrieu and Châteauneuf-du-Pape – it was the Hermitage iterations that attendees at DFWE NYC 2024 were treated to on Saturday 8 June. Each was an individual expression, a soaring aria, of a tiny vineyard parcel.

The intricate patchwork of Hermitage hill

Through two whites and two reds, each across two vintages, Chapoutier explained to guests the unique characters each single-vineyard plot can express.

M Chapoutier, De L’Orée, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2018

M Chapoutier, Le Méal Blanc, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2018

M Chapoutier, De L’Orée, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2011

M Chapoutier, Le Méal Blanc, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2011

M Chapoutier, Le Pavillon, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2014

M Chapoutier, L’Ermite Rouge, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2014

M Chapoutier, Le Pavillon, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2011

M Chapoutier, L’Ermite Rouge, Hermitage, Rhône, Franc 2011

Biodynamics

Having converted all of his vineyards to biodynamic farming in the early 1990s, Chapoutier has often been called a maverick. During the masterclass, he compared chemical farming to having a headache and taking an aspirin. It takes care of the symptoms but not the underlying problem.

Organic farming does the same, but instead of using the chemical molecule, it uses the natural molecule. Biodynamics, on the other hand, questions why you have the headache in the first place,; what the origin is.

One of the first things he noticed as an obvious result of converting to biodynamics was an increase in the wines’ natural level of acidity.

As well as explaining why biodynamics has such an important impact on his wines, Chapoutier stressed how the use of ambient yeasts for fermentation is also crucial to expressing the uniqueness of his terroir.

‘Wine is an aromatic symphony,’ he said. ‘With selected yeast, it’s like playing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with only the violin. But if you use wild yeast, you have a full symphony orchestra.’

According to Chapoutier, as well as soil, climate and human influence, vintage plays an important role when talking about terroir. What made this masterclass particularly fascinating was the ability to taste wines from differnt vineyard sites but from the same vintage side by side, as well as from an older vintage.

Food pairing potential

A winemaker who loves to cook, Chapoutier gave tantalising food-pairing suggestions for each of his wines.

The noble bitterness inherent in the Marsanne grape (the sole player in both the De L’Orée and Le Méal whites), lends itself particularly well to pairing – ‘a bridge for the marriage between wine and food’, he said.

Chapoutier suggested pairing De L’Orée 2018 with lamb curry, for example, or to take the pairing to another level with the traditional Chinese dish of century eggs. Le Pavillon 2014 he proposed lièvre à la royale (a French dish of hare slow cooked in red wine, heart, liver, lungs and blood), or roasted woodcock.

DFWE NYC 2024: the M Chapoutier masterclass wines

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