Georges Lelektsoglou

Originally from Greece, Georges Lelektsoglou is part of the furniture in and around the Rhône Valley. He once worked as a Courtier de Campagne, looking for bulk wines for the likes of Guigal and Chapoutier, when he started making his own personal selections of wines to celebrate the birth of his eldest son in 1983. His wife's family was part of the co-operative and owned a historic vineyard in Larnage. Along with the Cave de Tain, they produced a quality Crozes-Hermitage in ’83 that was a great commercial success. When he found exceptional bottles of wines, Georges also offered them to some of France’s most celebrated, Michelin-starred restaurants, including Troisgros, Chapel, Bocuse and Gagnaire.

He opened up his first cellar in ’88 and started to select personal cuvées in small quantities, looking for old, well-looked after vines and always working with trusted friends. He makes a Crozes-Hermitage and a selection of Côte-Rôtie in tiny volumes. Georges was a distributor of Château Rayas when he found a unique, tiny plot of 100-year-old Grenache vines very close to Rayas’ vineyards – in the exceptional Pignan lieu-dit of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. When he’s not in the cellar, you will find Georges in his treasure-trove of a wine shop near Tain l’Hermitage.