Bernard Levet, Cote-Rotie La Chavaroche, 2011

Bernard Levet is one of Côte-Rôtie's last true traditionalists, a tiny family domaine in Ampuis (now run by daughter Agnès) imported unbroken by Neal Rosenthal since 1983. La Chavaroche comes from a 1.2-hectare, southwest-facing parcel of roughly 40-year-old vines on the schist-and-granite Côte Brune, vinified the old way: mostly whole clusters, long three-week macerations, and three years aging in large old barrels. The 2011 leaned fresh and red-fruited, a vintage that emphasized terroir over ripeness, making this an aromatic, classically proportioned Chavaroche that rewards both the table and the cellar.