Brothers Maxime and Romain Champet are the family’s third generation to champion the once nearly-abandoned Côte Rôtie cru, La Viallière. With slopes often exceeding 50%, La Viallière is one of the steepest, rockiest vineyards in the appellation. The Champets must do almost everything by hand, and spend a considerable portion of the year just maintaining their terrace walls. Winemaking has remained staunchly classical, with long macerations, little or no destemming, and aging in primarily neutral, large oak barrels.
