The floral, mineral-scented and flavored, Chablis-like 2004 St.-Peray blanc is impressive. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

As I have indicated elsewhere in this report, 2003 has produced some of the finest white St. Perays I have ever tasted. Chapoutier's crisp 2003 St. Peray blanc offers up scents of acacia flowers and crushed stones followed by a long, heady finish.As I have said so many times over the last 15 years, the top Chapoutier wines are meant for very long term drinking, and are not designed for immediate gratification. Everything Chapoutier is doing, from his bio-dynamically farmed vineyard to tiny yields, extended fermentations, indigenous yeasts, and no fining or filtration, is done to produce the essence of a vineyard and a vintage. His track record since 1989 and 1990 admirably proves that these are indeed remarkable wines made by a young genius who refuses to compromise. Michel Chapoutier has been misunderstood by some of his peers, and there is a lot of jealousy when someone this young is so incredibly talented, but it is an irrefutable fact that these are wines of singular greatness as well as longevity.Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

An appellation that appears to be attracting more interest from most of the major northern Rhone negociants is St.-Peray, a forgotten white wine region adjacent to and south of Cornas. Chapoutier’s crisp, fresh, dry, medium-bodied, straightforward, monolithic 2001 St.-Peray is an above average quality example. It is best drunk over the next several years. These uncompromising offerings from a young genius are not meant for consumers who want something to drink immediately. They are the essence of bio-dynamically farmed vineyard sites cropped incredibly low, given extended fermentations with indigenous yeasts, and rarely touched until they go into the bottle unfined and unfiltered. In most vintages, the wines are not even racked off their lees, which only adds to their natural style. These are truly remarkable wines, but for most readers, patience is the operative rule as they generally need a good 8-10 years to strut their stuff.Once moribund, over the last 12 years, this firm has become one of the reference points for nearly all the Rhone Valley appellations since the brash yet immensely talented Michel Chapoutier took over in the late eighties. The single vineyard offerings are as good as Rhone Valley wines can be. Moreover, Chapoutier continues to upgrade the quality of those wines offered in more significant quantities than the 500 or so cases each of the single vineyard offerings.Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900