2011 Condrieu, Les Ravines, Domaine Robert et Rémi Niero
Critics reviews
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #204, Dec 2012
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #204, Dec 2012
About this WINE
Domaine Robert Niero
Robert Niero spent 13 years working in a bank before marrying the late Jean Pinchon`s daughter and thus inheriting holdings in some of Condrieu's most illustrious vineyards. He made further purchases and now has just under 6 hectares of vineyards. .
The Syrah grape variety, from which Côte Rôtie is made, is cultivated in the community of Ampuis in La Vallière (0.60ha) and Semons in Coteau de Bassenon (1.20ha).
Since 1994 Robert has vinified separately the Viogner grapes from his holdings in the Coteau de Chery and La Roncharde vineyards (the latter goes into Condrieu Les Ravines). The average vine age in the Coteau de Chery is high (30-50 years old) and the wines are powerful, well-structured and often exotically rich.
His son Rémi joined the domain in 2004.
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
The use of egg-shaped concrete vats and more battonnage than usual mark out 2011 from previous vintages. The intended result of greater viscosity and fruit definition has been achieved. Refined and refreshing, the 2011 achieves a pleasing interplay between the classic Viognier apricot/peach profile and a gentle spiciness.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
Owning six hectares in Condrieu and three in Côte-Rôtie is impressive in such small and fragmented appellations, all the more so if they include plots in the lieux-dits of Chéry and La Vaillière respectively. Rémi has his father’s good looks and shares his dynamic approach to winemaking, with impressive results in 2011.
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