Côte-Rôtie Améthyste Vignobles Levet 2020

Lot presentation

Côte-Rôtie Améthyste Vignobles Levet 2020

The wine

Améthyste is a Petite Serine single-variety wine that is in fact an old, productive variety of Syrah with smaller grapes and more space in the bunch. It has been cultivated in the historic heart of the Côte-Rôtie appellation in soils mostly consisting of two-mica micaschists. The wine is vinified traditionally and matured for two years in oak demi-muid barrels before bottling. Améthyste delivers a very seductive balance and harmony, supported by spicy aromas and a great tannic structure that encourages good ageing.

This family-run property was established in 1929 and has passed through four generations. Marius Chambeyron, who was a market gardener and from the second of these generations, planted vineyards on a number of lieux-dits including La Landonne. Today, Agnès Levet has fine-tuned the winemaking and continues to tend these superb plots in the heart of Côte Blonde and Côte Brune. 55% of the parcels were planted before 1953. One of the varieties cultivated here is Petite Serine, an ancient type of Syrah which produces lower yields and smaller, better-spaced clusters. The domain has practised massal selection (taking cuttings from old vines to propagate new vineyards) since the 1990s. The Levet's wine shop is in the centre of Ampuis, opposite the church.