Bernard Levet

By Josh Raynolds

Jan/Feb 08

Agnes Levet told me that in 2006 the acidity of her wines averaged 3.7 grams per liter, while in 2005 it was 4.7, and both years achieved 13% natural alcohol. "You have to put those 2005s away," she said. "They are way too difficult to enjoy now. Even in bad years you should keep Cote-Rotie for a long time. We had a 1965 a couple of weeks ago and it was still holding on." What about 2005, I asked her. "Forget it: 40 years, probably more." I was struck by the fruit expression and suavity of this year's set of wines; they were by far the most civilized samples I've tasted in these cellars since I began visiting here in the early 1990s. I should add that they are still among the most traditional, sauvage versions of Cote-Rotie out there, but they seemed more polished than previously. (Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY)

2006 Vignobles Levet Cote Rotie Les Journaries 89-91
Dark purple. Exuberant dark berry aromas are complemented by subtle floral and baking spice qualities. Lush and creamy, with almost New World sweetness and warmth. Picks up soft tannins on the close but this is all about fruit today. Surprisingly open, sweet and seductive for a Levet wine-these tend to be a bit inscrutable at such an early stage.

2006 Vignobles Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche 91-94
Saturated ruby. Wild, pungent bouquet offers kirsch, cassis, licorice, cured tobacco, smoked meat and minerals. Surprisingly fresh and restrained on the palate, with sweet red fruit and baking spice flavors and slow-building tannins. Picks up an exotic apricot quality on the impressively long, sappy finish. I was taken aback at this wine's elegance and unusually civilized character, but it gives up nothing in complexity or Cote-Rotie typicity.

2005 Vignobles Levet Cote Rotie Les Journaries 88(+?)
Ruby-red. Dark cherry, cassis and musky herbs on the nose, with a subtle floral quality building with air. Bitter cherry and dark berry flavors are supported by gentle acidity and pick up firm tannins on the close. This has become more serious since last year.

2005 Vignobles Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche 92 (+?)
Deep ruby. Spicy blackberry, cassis, espresso and dark chocolate on the nose, with cracked pepper and minerals adding complexity. Solid tannins firm dark berry compote flavors, with slow-building cured meat and mocha flavors carrying into the finish. Leaves a strong bitter cherry quality behind, along with a jolt of cracked pepper. Great material but painfully brooding now.

Jan/Feb 2007

VIGNOBLES LEVET
By Josh Raynolds

92-95       2005 Vignobles Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche

Inky ruby. Deep, complex bouquet of cassis, tobacco, beef jerky and candied violet. Remarkably concentrated and full, with powerful dark berry and kirsch flavors deepened by a smoky, meaty quality. Solid tannins are absorbed by dense fruit in the strinkingly long finish. This powerful wine-as impressive a young wine as I’ve ever had here – will need plenty of cellar time.

92       2004 Vignobles Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche

Bright red. Explosively floral aromas of pure blackberry, strawberry, pepper and violet. The fruit is to the fore today and this is displaying far more sweetness than usual for this bottling. Ripe red and dark berry flavors carry through a long, sappy finish, with very gentle tannins making a late appearance.

October 15 , 2006

94.        Cote-Rotie La Chavaroche 2003

Jan/Feb 2006

Levet's Cote-Rotie is a completely old-school version, made from vineyards planted exclusively to petite serine and with no concession to current fashion."The mode today is for easy commercialization at the expense of character," he states.His 2004, which pleases him immensely, "is an accurate reflection of Cote-Rotie terroir," a sentiment I heard in many other caves in the area.The challenges posed by 2003, in contrast, conspired to create what the Levets describe as the most distinctive wine they have produced.(Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY)

2004 Domaine Bernard Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche 91-93

(this is the cuvee that has been selected by American importer Neal Rosenthal in every vintage since the 1983, when he began working with Levet) Deep red color. Powerful, mineral-driven aromas of bitter cherry, wild strawberry, plum, cracked pepper and beef jerky. Sappy in texture, with jammy dark berry fruitiness complicated by game, violet and black tea. The tannins are firm but not dry. As usual, a distinctively wild, concentrated wine that makes no concession to modern sensibilities.

2003 Domaine Bernard Levet Cote Rotie La Chavaroche 91

($57) Inky dark purple. Cassis, blackberry, dark plum, crystallized violet and lavender perfume on the heady nose. Enormously concentrated and rich, with deep black and redcurrant flavors framed by strong but harmonious tannins. The most powerful and strikingly concentrated wine I've ever had from Levet. "This vintage is impossible to compare to any other," says Levet. "It's one of a kind."

November 15, 2005

88. B. Levet cote-Rotie La Chavaroche 2002

Perfumy, with garrigue, grilled meat, dried currant and tobacco leaf aromas and flavors. Firm finish, but has length and balance. Should soften nicely with moderate cellaring. Best from 2006 through 1010. 150 cases imported. - J.M.

2003 Northern Rhone Preview
Posted: Friday, January 07, 2005
by James Molesworth

Cellar Notes from Rhone Domaines, Part 2

There are no bells and whistles at this domaine, and even some of the locals I spoke with had not heard of it. Bernard Levet, 57, works just less than 10 acres of vineyards along with his wife, whose grandfather started the domaine in 1947, and his daughter.

The family produces about 1,500 cases a year of Cote-Rotie wines, and their prime holding is in the La Chavaroche lieux-dit, which is sandwiched between the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune. Levet's two portions of the steeply terraced vineyard (keeping up as he walks it is not easy), the upper and lower, are 30 and 60 years old, respectively.

The winemaking is simple and traditional, with fermentation in concrete tanks, a three-week maceration period, and then malolactic fermentation being carried out partly in demi-muids (large oak containers) and partly in tanks. The wines are aged 24 months before bottling and on average see only 10 percent new oak, as Levet changes one or two of his demi-muids every several years.

For the U.S. market, Levet bottles the La Chavaroche parcel separately, and it is a throwback wine--wild and gamy with dark currant, tar and mineral notes, but a supple, silky texture. It tends to lose some of its roguish nature as it ages, gaining elegance with time. The 2003 is especially dark and brawny. The 2002, which had still not been bottled at the time of my visit, showed elegant dried cherry fruit and pronounced minerality. Despite the difficulties of the vintage, Levet says he didn't do anything differently with the elevage for that wine.

Levet's other parcels go into a basic Cote-Rotie cuvÈe that is not exported to the United States. However, the domaine has a store in the center of Ampuis, so if you visit the Rhone, you can find this--or his other wines, of which less than 200 cases reach the U.S. market

While this salt-of-the-earth domaine makes a style of wine that isn't for everyone, it certainly deserves recognition.