Since 1935, the Champet family has been one of the great Old School dynasties of Côte Rôtie, achieving particular renown between the 1960s and 1980s, when Emile Champet was considered to be in the same league with Marius Gentaz. 
 
The dynasty continued under Emile’s son Joël, whose single cuvée from La Viallière was the essence of traditional Côte Rôtie. And Joël’s sons Romaine and Maxime have honored their father’s legacy with an equally great Côte Rôtie La Viallière. But Romaine and Maxime wanted to do more, and so they selected a small parcel of old Syrah vines in Viaillère with which to produce an hommage to Joël called Les Fils à Jo. 
 
With only 166 cases made, and the wine traditionally vinified with no new wood, the 2017 Les Fils à Jo is the kind of rarity that gets the hearts of Côte Rôtie fanatics thumping. And as Champet’s sole US importer, we’re thrilled to offer it at very special 3- and 6-bottle prices to our private clients. Quantities at these prices are very limited, however.
 
Les Fils à Jo
Romain and Maxime Champet see themselves as the guardians of their family’s legacy, farming by hand one of Côte Rôtie's steepest, rockiest schist-based lieux-dits, La Viallière. And the parcel they chose for Les Fils à Jo has some of Viallière's densest schist.
 
The winemaking is nearly identical to how Joël and Emile made their Côte Rôties. They vinify with nearly 100% whole-clusters, and they ferment and macerate with native yeasts for two to three weeks with frequent pumping over. Aging is a full two years in used 228-liter barrels.
 
The 2017 Les Fils à Jo is a wine for serious Cote Rotie lovers and one that will handsomely repay cellaring. It is reminiscent of the family's Côte Rôties from the era of grandfather Emile and his iconic colleagues, Marius Gentaz and Albert Dervieux. 
 
Champet's regular La Vialliere bottling is about as close to a purely classic Côte Rôtie as you'll find today. That said, Les Fils à Jo is a further step up in quality, without sacrificing its traditional values. Given Josh Raynolds 93-point rating on vinous.com for the 2017 Côte Rôtie you can be confident of an even higher rating for the 2017 Fils à Jo cuvée when it comes time to be reviewed. 

This wine belongs in the cellar of anyone who prizes the utter singularity of Côte Rôtie made by classic methods. Please don’t miss it.

2017
Domaine Champet
Côte Rôtie “Les Fils à Jo” 

$180  3-pack

$350  6-pack

Next-Day Delivery Included on all Orders!