About this WINE
Domaine Jean-Michel Gerin
Farming an outstanding plot of 10 hectares in Côte-Rôtie and another of a similar size (and quality) in Condrieu, Jean-Michel Gerin is one of the acknowledged masters of the region, imbuing Syrah with a wonderful purity and bringing out the full richness of Viognier. He is not only one of the great characters, but also one of the greatest winemakers in the Northern Rhône.
Gerin's winemaking methods aim for fragrance and sumptuous texture, with the wines' substance based on fruit rather than tannic mass. He employs copious use of wood, yet his wines seem to integrate it in a remarkable way, a model for subtly oaked fruit purity.
In addition to his appellation sites, he also makes excellent and well-priced Vins de Pays, and, to demonstrate both his passion and his pioneering spirit, he also has a vineyard in Priorat, a highly successful joint venture with Laurent Combier of Crozes-Hermitage.
Viognier
A white grape variety originating in the Northern Rhône and which in the last ten years has been increasingly planted in the Southern Rhône and the Languedoc.
It is a poor-yielding grape that is notoriously fickle to grow, being susceptible to a whole gamut of pests and diseases. Crucially it must be picked at optimum ripeness - if harvested too early and under-ripe the resulting wine can be thin, dilute and unbalanced, while if picked too late then the wine will lack the grape's distinctive peach and honeysuckle aroma. It is most successfully grown in the tiny appellations of Château-Grillet and Condrieu where it thrives on the distinctive arzelle granite-rich soils. It is also grown in Côte Rôtie where it lends aromatic richness to the wines when blended with Syrah.
Viognier has been on the charge in the Southern Rhône and the Languedoc throughout the 1990s and is now a key component of many white Côtes du Rhône. In Languedoc and Rousillon it is increasingly being bottled unblended and with notable success with richly fragrant wines redolent of overripe apricots and peaches and selling at a fraction of the price of their Northern Rhône cousins.
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Description
Gerin’s Condrieu is less opulent than some – no bad thing considering that, with Viognier more than any other grape, one man’s opulence is another’s over-indulgence. There is a pleasing seam of minerality here with notes of peach, dried apricot and honeysuckle all present.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
Try as one might, it is impossible not to like Jean-Michel Gerin. In the early days I was so persistent going up to him every year at Ampuis, requesting UK exclusivity, that his dead-pan ‘non’ became something of an in-joke. When ‘non’ turned to ‘oui’, five or six years ago, a very successful partnership was initiated. His sons Mickael and Alexei are now a key part of the operation. 2011 was phenolically mature by the end of the first week of September, so they picked relatively early, and everyone is very pleased with the results.
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