2011 Taburnum, IGP des Collines Rhodaniennes, Les Vins de Vienne
White | Drink now | Les Vins De Vienne | Code: 17132 | 2011 | France > Vin de Pays > VdP des Comtes Rhodaniens > VdP des Collines Rhodaniennes | Viognier | Medium-Full Bodied, Dry | 14.0 % alcohol
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The Producer
Les Vins de Vienne was the name given to the wines of the Seyssuel region in the Roman times, which were reportedly of some repute. It is also the name given to the négociant firm and a domaine recently set up by three leading winemakers from the Northern Rhône, Yves Cuilleron, Pierre Gaillard and François Villard.
For the domaine, the team have resurrected a long-neglected vineyard area on the steep hills in the commune of Seyssuel, a little bit further north of the town of Vienne, in the far northern reaches of the Rhône Valley.
For the négociant business they have pooled their resources and genius to forge a new benchmark for négoçiant and domaine Rhône wines. From the smart aesthetics of the packaging through to the sheer class of the wines themselves, the operation has made a very big impression in a very short period of time.
With plantations of Syrah and Viognier they have created wines which resemble their famous progenitors in Condrieu and Côte Rôtie, yet with subtle, fascinating points of difference. They have now spread their wings to create a whole family of wines including this extraordinarily good Côtes du Rhône
The Grape
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.
The Region
Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes is a sub-division of the broader regional appellation of Vin de Pays des Comtés Rhodaniens and encompasses wines produced in the Rhone valley.
Yves Cuilleron and Domaine Vins de Vienne (the Yves Cuilleron - Pierre Gaillard & François Villard joint venture) are the star performers in this Vin de Pays appellation, offering red and white wines from Syrah and Viogner. The wines are distinctly modern-styled yet filled with terroir character and show depth of fruit and powerful structure.
New labelling laws mean this wine is now referred to as IGP (Indication Géographique Protegée) rather than Vin de Pays. If the granting of Appellation status still proves elusive, the wine does not fail to please, with classy Viognier writ large, but with a certain additional power and precision on the finish, which bodes well.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
Les Vins de Vienne has almost out-grown their progenitors, in the sense that their négociant arm is now far more significant than that of Messrs Cuilleron, Villard and Gaillard. If the move from the precipitous and chaotic Seyssuel winery has taken a little romance from the project, the brilliant winemaking of Pascal Lombard has ensured an increase in quality and the forging of a distinct identity, important in what may once have been conceived as a somewhat amorphous project.