Wines

The “house cuvée” is a selected blend from all the parcels that the Levet family owns. Produced in the same manner as “La Chavaroche” and “Les Journaries,” this bottling tends to be the most open and immediately seductive of the three versions of Levet Côte-Rôtie. This easiness is relative, of course, for this bottling still impresses. Levet’s typical smoky and savage character is here counterpointed by an elegant, floral, and wild-berry fruit. 2015 marks the first vintage that we have imported this cuvée. Alas, we have now sourced all that is available of this storied domaine.

Since the 2004 vintage, we have expanded our work with the Levet family to include a second bottling of Cote Rotie known as “Les Journaries”, a cuvée drawn from grapes harvested from old vines in the “La Landonne” lieu-dit. This wine is more subtle, more elegant and “quieter” if you will than the “Chavaroche”. At the same time, it is very much a Levet wine with a bouquet of violets, wild berries, a touch of animal and resinous-like tannins that speak of the inclusion of stems (a hallmark of the Levet tradition).  The “Journaries” is approachable at an earlier stage than its companion “La Chavaroche” but, that being said, it is a wine that not only ages gracefully but almost requires a touch of patience.

The cuvée that we have imported from the outset (1983 vintage) is from the “Chavaroche” vineyard.  As explained above, this wine is aged for thirty to thirty-six months prior to bottling. It is, quite simply, a ferocious wine, unique in its uninhibited expression of the smells and flavors of the appellation. No compromise is brooked here. The result is a wine that is controversial, too “wild” for many but, for us, one of the most elite wines in our personal pantheon. We import annually approximately 2,400 bottles (a mix of 750mls and magnums).

After 36 years of producing nothing but Syrah, the Levet family premiered a small lot of Condrieu in the 2019 vintage, from a planting of 20-year-old Viognier in the vineyard La Maraze, in the commune of Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône. Vinified and aged half in steel and half in 600-liter demi-muids, this shows marked freshness for the appellation, with the oak playing a minor supporting role amidst the attractive quinine and apricot flavors.