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Walls: Exclusive first taste of M Chapoutier Sélections Parcellaires 2020

Matt Walls is the first in the UK to taste the new range of Michel Chapoutier's rare and prized single-vineyard range of 16 wines made in a quest to represent the ultimate expression of the diverse Rhône terroirs.

On the reds: They have the freshness of the 2016 vintage, with an added dollop of 2018 ripeness.

On the whites: This could prove to be the best year at Chapoutier for white wines since 2014.


Before we dive into 2020, let’s recall a previous vintage in the Rhône – the tipping-point 2003. Before this year, hot vintages had come and gone, but local winemakers all agreed 2003 was unbearable.

The plants couldn’t cope; leaves desiccated on the vines. The resulting wines were often strange, jammy confections.

No-one wants to see that again.


Scroll down to see Matt Walls’ exclusive tasting notes and scores for the Chapoutier Sélections Parcellaires 2020 wines


In 2003, Michel Chapoutier started the picking on the 17th of August. In 2020, he started on the 19th of August. The fiery spectre of 2003 had raised its head once again.

‘I was very worried that [2020] would have the same characteristics as ’03,’ he says. ‘But it’s amazing; when you taste the wines, you don’t have the impression that we had such a warm vintage.’


Chapoutier Sélections Parcellaires 2020: Tasting notes and scores


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