2012 Condrieu, Domaine Benetière

2012 Condrieu, Domaine Benetière

Product: 22140
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2012 Condrieu, Domaine Benetière

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Description

The three component lieu-dits (Tinal, Riollement and Les Chaillés) are complementary, the first adding texture and the second and third minerality and a hint of salinity.  Natural yeasts and old wood add to the charm of this outstanding example, which juxtaposes dried apricots, verbena and honeysuckle, with an agreeable hint of gingerbread on the finish.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Alumnus of Domaine Georges Vernay, no less, Pierre Benetière, is unlikely to challenge Maison Guigal on the volume stakes, owning just one hectare in the appellation, but in terms of quality he has few peers. The vines in question cover three different terroirs in the commune of Vérin. Sometimes there are two different cuvées, but given the paucity of production, we are sure that the blended option is preferable. The whole is better than the aggregate of the parts.

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About this WINE

Domaine Benetiere

Domaine Benetiere

Condrieu’s fall from grace, commercial or otherwise, has only relatively recently been addressed and now, given its meagre dimension, vines are so hard to come by that all those wise enough to have clung onto them in the depressed times are now unlikely to forsake them. Young (with a parenthetical ‘ish’ added) growers such as Pierre Benetière, an alumnus of Domaine Georges Vernay, have been lucky to get any foot-hold at all. 

His 2.5 hectares are on good south-east facing sites, at an altitude of 250 metres or so...good sites, but not the very best. He manages somehow, paradoxically by being rigorously conventional, to coax great extract and finesse from his vines, the eldest of which have 20 years. Barrel fermentation and elevage, coupled with a full malolactic and occasional bentonite fining, can hardly be seen as controversial, or even especially inspired. And yet his Condrieus are amongst the best in the appellation. Must be something to do with his rather waspish sense of humour.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer

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Viognier

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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