Please enlighten me on the Levet Cuvées

[Robert.A.Jr]

I have a maggie of that 2004, tempted to pop it for Fu. See if he can handle a manly Rhone over his 2015 fruit-bombs!

[William_Kelley]

A question - If Le Journaries is old vine La La, why not call it La Landonne?

Surely a more prestigious label to have than their own proprietary label name.

I don’t think marketing is their strong point!

[Greg_K]

I have a maggie of that 2004, tempted to pop it for Fu. See if he can handle a manly Rhone over his 2015 fruit-bombs!

I distinctly remember having the 04 at Nice Matin a few years ago and initially wondering if it might actually be a bit off

[Greg_K]

A question - If Le Journaries is old vine La La, why not call it La Landonne?

Surely a more prestigious label to have than their own proprietary label name.

I don’t think marketing is their strong point!

But absolutely lovely people to visit.

[Robert.A.Jr]

There is a wine writer of acclaim that pops in from time to time, I think his name is Billy, or something like that, who wrote a nice piece on Levet:

In praise of Domaine Bernard Levet – William Kelley

You are too kind, Robert.

The oldest Levet I have in my cellar is the 1989. You should make it out to Beaune some time!

A 1998 is the best I can do for a mature one! I’ve not had anything more mature than 2004.

[Markus_S]

I am pretty sure La Pirolene is the name used in Europe for La Chave…

I wouldn’t call it ‘La Chave’, as it sounds as if Jean-Louis moved upstrream.

[Markus_S]

What Robert said!
I am really curious as to why they have different names for cuvées EU vs US…

Yes, very stupid and confusing!

[Markus_S]

Would a 2004 or 2007 Chavaroche be best to try over the next 6 months? I saw prior TNs the 2007s were near ready, but perhaps a bit young. Which is the more accurate expression of a wine (that folks say changes drastically vintage-to-vintage)? I had a 2011 a few months ago… young and a bit too feral for the wife, and I was cautiously positively disposed (I can better appreciate a little funk)… I would like to give it another go.

As Robert said, that '04 Levet has some serious funk. One of the Levets I’ve had that may have been a bit too funky for me, and I like Levet a lot!

Many 04 Cote Rotie’s have some nasty funk.

[William_Kelley]

A 1998 is the best I can do for a mature one! I’ve not had anything more mature than 2004.

They can be a bit feral, but I doubt you would mind that!

[William_Kelley]

What Robert said!
I am really curious as to why they have different names for cuvées EU vs US…

Yes, very stupid and confusing!

I don’t know, but I assume Rosenthal asked them to give the cuvées lieux-dit derived names as opposed to the brand names that they had for the European market.

[Kirk.Grant]

This is the Piroline 2015
The other cuvees have the standard label
I used to buy Levet in the 90’s vintages. They were as outstanding as they were cheap

That’s a VERY interesting label…beautiful.

[Pat_Martin]

From the American importers website:

Cote Rotie La Chavaroche: The cuvee that we have imported from the outset (1983 vintage) is from the “Chavaroche” vineyard. As explained above, this wine is aged for thirty to thirty-six months prior to bottling. It is, quite simply, a ferocious wine, unique in its uninhibited expression of the smells and flavors of the appellation. No compromise is brooked here. The result is a wine that is controversial, too “wild” for many but, for us, one of the most elite wines in our personal pantheon.

Goodness, this reads like a viniferous Rorschach test, and it’s setting off all of my Pavlovian response potential (I’m drooling).

[CFu]

I have a maggie of that 2004, tempted to pop it for Fu. See if he can handle a manly Rhone over his 2015 fruit-bombs!

If I came to Orlando and your choice of wine for me was 04 levet when you’ve served gonon vv to… less enthusiastic lovers of the northern Rhône I’d probably just get in my car and head to Disney world or something

[Alan_Rath]

Levet is not for all Rhone or Syrah lovers. Even Alan Rath, who has a tremendous palate for Syrah and the love of Northern Rhone, does not seem to care for Levet.

I recognize, and am somewhat embarrassed by, my own limitations. To this end, I am letting a dead skunk slowly decay under my house in the crawl space, so as to build up a tolerance, perhaps even love, for the subtleties of Levet.

[Shan_A]

How much of the love for Chavaroche is to mitigate generating interest for Journaries?

[Marcus_Dean]

A question - If Le Journaries is old vine La La, why not call it La Landonne?

Surely a more prestigious label to have than their own proprietary label name.

I believe (but stand to be corrected) that Journaries is an old name for Landonne

[Robert.A.Jr]

I have a maggie of that 2004, tempted to pop it for Fu. See if he can handle a manly Rhone over his 2015 fruit-bombs!

If I came to Orlando and your choice of wine for me was 04 levet when you’ve served gonon vv to… less enthusiastic lovers of the northern Rhône I’d probably just get in my car and head to Disney world or something

I also took him to a basketball game in the skybox, sadly your only choice is Billy Joel!

[CFu]

I have a maggie of that 2004, tempted to pop it for Fu. See if he can handle a manly Rhone over his 2015 fruit-bombs!

If I came to Orlando and your choice of wine for me was 04 levet when you’ve served gonon vv to… less enthusiastic lovers of the northern Rhône I’d probably just get in my car and head to Disney world or something

I also took him to a basketball game in the skybox, sadly your only choice is Billy Joel!

#whiteprivilege #poorme

[Robert.A.Jr]

Oh, and bring the faded skinny jeans with the frays and holes for style. That earns bottles. Charlie Carnes approved.

[Pat_Martin]

Man, I must be seriously funk tolerant (old school Bordeaux is my first love). I’ve only had Levet 4-5 times but I’ve never gotten this funk city stuff. Sure, it was wild but more in a full stem, reductive, rustic, herbal, zesty way than due to Brett or decaying mammals.