Cotes du Rhone by Yannick Alleno et Michel Chapoutier 2017

Chapoutier can trace their history in the Rhône region back to 1808, but it was in 1879 that Polydor Chapoutier bought his first vineyards and started the actual business. Years later, during the 1980s, quality improved, under Michel Chapoutier's leadership over the vineyards and winemaking facilities.

Wine Spectator crowned the Michel Chapoutier “King of the Hill,” the hill being the granite-rich Hermitage in the Northern Rhône Valley, one of the most venerated mounds of vineyards in all of winedom. If “king” sounds highfalutin, consider that his company, M. Chapoutier based in Tain l’Hermitage, down from the hill, owns more than a quarter of that exquisite, tiny and precious real estate, where Syrah reigns.

Yannick Alléno has been awarded six Michelin stars in his career. In 2007, at just 40–years–old, he entered the prestigious circle of the best chefs in the world by earning three Michelin stars for the restaurant at the Le Meurice hotel in Paris. In 2015 he repeated the feat, this time at the head of the Pavillon Ledoyen, and the same year he was given the Chef of the Year Award by Gault & Millau.

With a shared passion for the terroir, the grape and the quest for a perfect food-wine pairing, the Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alleno and the Rhône Valley wine legend Michel Chapoutier decided they should join forces. ​The Chapoutier family is one of the most powerful, wealthy and land-rich families in the Rhône Valley. They own some of the most hallowed grounds in all of winedom. A crown they share with only two other families; Guigal and Perrin. The Rhône Valley was the natural choice for their first wine: a Saint-Joseph, one of the world’s most prestigious appellations, followed by a Crozes-Hermitage. This was just the beginning of an exciting exploration of terroirs, wines and gastronomic dishes.