Chapoutier is one of the oldest wine producers in the Rhone Valley with a history dating back to 1808. A distant ancestor, Polydor Chapoutier, was the first to buy vines here, shifting from being a simple grape grower to making and trading his own wine. For the last two hundred years, the estate has been producing some of the greatest wines in the Rhone Valley. Today, the range also includes wines from some Roussillon appellations as well as projects in Portugal and Australia.

Under Michel Chapoutier’s leadership, quality improved and Chapoutier gained international recognition. The massive negociant and winery produces single-vineyard expressions and classic wines from a range of appellations in the north and south of the valley.

They have adopted biodynamic farming techniques and have included Braille markings on their labels since 1996. This was done from a desire to reach out to and include lovers of good wines with sight-impairments, and as a tribute to Maurice Monier of La Sizeranne, a member of the family that previously owned the vines of the same name and who invented the first abbreviated version of Braille.

Ermitage wines possess a rich historical past. They were appreciated as early on as Roman times when they were enjoyed (as well as Cote Rotie wines) under the name of "Vienne wines" and were later to be called "Saint Christopher's hillside wines" because of a chapel there bearing the saint's name. They were also to be known of as “Tournon wines".

Chapoutier Hermitage “Monier de la Sizeranne” comes from a range of different soils from West to East: “les Bessards” (from a granitic origin that constitutes the “soul” of a good Hermitage), “le Meal” (old alluvial terraces with a lot of gravels and shingles more or less calcareous), and “les Greffieux” (silty soil with shingles).

The wine has a deep garnet red color with purplish lights. On the nose are aromas of red fruits (raspberry, blackcurrant) with a hint of liquorice. This is a round and elegant wine with concentrated and gentle tannins. It has a finish of blackcurrant, raspberry and spicy (pepper) aromas when young.