Brothers Maxime and Romain Champet are the family’s third generation to champion the once nearly-abandoned Côte Rôtie cru, La Viallière. With slopes often exceeding 50%, La Viallière is one of the steepest, rockiest vineyards in the appellation. The Champets must do almost everything by hand, and spend a considerable portion of the year just maintaining their terrace walls. Winemaking has remained staunchly classical, with long macerations, little or no destemming, and aging in primarily neutral, large oak barrels. They still vinify with typically 100% whole-clusters, fermenting and macerating with the native yeasts for two to three weeks with frequent pumping over. The 18-month elévage takes place almost entirely in neutral barrels—primarily large demi-muids augmented by a substantial number of foudres and a handful of pieces. And bottling is without fining or filtration.
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