Condrieu
There are now plantings of Viognier worldwide but this grape’s spiritual homeland is in Condrieu – where the finest Viogniers are produced. The appellation was created in 1940, and today over 40 growers make wines from just over 100 hectares of vineyards. The wines are dry with a wonderful floral nose of peaches, apricots, violets and pears, and quite alcoholic, with low-ish acidity. Condrieus are best enjoyed when young.
Condrieu is to Viognier what the Côte de Nuits is to Pinot Noir. There are now plantings of Viognier worldwide, but this pernickety grape’s spiritual homeland is still in Condrieu – where the finest Viogniers in the world are still produced.
The appellation was created in 1940, and today over 40 growers produce wine from just over 100 hectares of vineyards. In 1965 the appellation covered only eight hectares.
Guigal accounts for 45 percent of the appellation’s production. The vineyards are adjacent to those of Côte-Rôtie, but not as steep. The best Condrieu wines are produced from soils that are on narrow, south-facing or south-east-facing terraces of granite – where the average vine age is around 50 years old.
Condrieu is solely made from the Viognier grape. As well as being situated next to Côte-Rôtie it also encompasses the separate AC of Château-Grillet. The wines are dry with a wonderful floral nose of peaches, apricots, violets and pears. They are quite alcoholic, with low-ish acidity. Condrieus are best enjoyed when young to ensure they maintain their freshness and delicate fruit flavours.
Recommended producers: Pierre Gaillard, Mouton Père et Fils
Best vintages: 2006, 2005, 2004
Prices:
Bottle
£33.45
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Bottle
£33.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl8cs
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
Rémi is now fully in charge, with Robert now retired, although, as so often, retirement does not seem to preclude almost daily visits to the winery. Old habits die hard... In any event, new livery and, to my mind, even more attention to detail in the vineyards, both underline the quality in this famous old property
Bottle
£34.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
Christophe and Isabelle demonstrate the same vigilance and patience in the maturation of their wines as to the up-bringing of their six children, several of whom now help, with varying degrees of formality, in the winery. The style of their wines is usually from the more elegant and nuanced end of the spectrum, which I found to be especially true in 2012.
Bottle
£34.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl4cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
Bottle
£38.75
Bottle 6 x 75cl2cs
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
Rémi is now fully in charge, with Robert now retired, although, as so often, retirement does not seem to preclude almost daily visits to the winery. Old habits die hard... In any event, new livery and, to my mind, even more attention to detail in the vineyards, both underline the quality in this famous old property
Bottle
£39.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl3cs
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.
Bottle
£39.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Despite such splendid natural resources, fine wine will not make itself, particularly in a year as challenging as 2012. Uneven weather through late spring and early summer called for extra diligence and expertise. Fortunately, neither is in short supply at Maison Perrin, which was established by members of the Perrin and Jaboulet families, viticultural aristocrats of the Rhône Valley. Their 2012 Condrieu is highly aromatic with notes of flowers, citrus and exotic fruits. Its complexity and length are enthralling.
Will Heslop - Buying Department
Bottle
£42.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl14cs
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, February 2012
The hand-over from Robert to Rémi is technically complete, but Robert shows no sign of retiring and it is always good to see him when we go to taste the wines. His temperament is such, however, that his presence can only be positive, as he surveys the resumption of good work which he started, taking advantage of very good plots in both Condrieu, where they own 6 hectares, and Côte Rôtie (3 hectares) and transforming the Domaine from a merely very good one to one of the key references.
Bottle
£42.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl5cs
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.
Bottle
£48.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl5cs
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer
Dynamic and energetic, Yves sometimes gives the impression of trying too hard: there is so much activity and so many wines, why can’t the message be clearer? Well, my message is clear and it underlines the overall quality of the range, proved once again by a recent (late 2014) Decanter tasting which put M Cuilleron's Côte Rôtie on its own at the very top of the tree. Pragmatism over the hot topic of destemming and a general inclination to harvest late are cited as two cornerstones of the Cuilleron philosophy. Yves praises the equilibrium of his 2013 whites, and is pleased with both the colour and the tannic structure of his reds.
Bottle
£72.00
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
Christine Vernay is close to being a perfectionist, so close in fact that she is sometimes reluctant to taste wines that have not been bottled for fear either of the fact that the work in progress will inevitably differ to a greater or lesser degree from the finished article or that the sample will be poor. To my mind, however, it’s like looking at a work of art, a Holbein drawing say, and then the finished painting. Both are sublime and the appreciation of the former informs that of the later. So it is with these exceptional wines; for Christine 2012 is an improvement on 2011. It flatters but it does not deceive.
Bottle
£75.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl9cs
Aptly named, the Vertige is sourced from Yves’ oldest, highest and best parcel of vines. The texture is that of a plush tapestry, adorned with both tropical and citric fruits and balanced by 18 months in oak. Behind the cashmere softness a shaft of mineral acidity lends focus and definition. Drink 2010-2014.
Bottle
£76.60
Bottle 12 x 75cl2cs
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer
Christine Vernay is pleased by the 2013s and has clearly relished the challenges of the vintage. The cold start allowed the vines to rest properly and it was therefore only reasonable that they had to work a little harder at the other end of the season, the longer growing cycle engendering complexity and finely defined acidity – the latter especially important with Viognier. No one makes better Viognier in the world, as these wines once again demonstrate.
Bottle
£80.00
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager
From steep granitic vines above the precipitous village of Malleval, Stéphane’s Condrieu is particularly successful in 2011. Buzzing with energy and notes of white pepper and cardamom adorning the more usual apricot and honeysuckle descriptors, this is a pure delight.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
Stéphane Ogier is now, arguably, the leading producer in Côte-Rôtie. Confident, modest and courteous, in short he is the perfect ambassador for the appellation. Stéphane now farms 12 parcels in Côte-Rôtie and has also launched a well-named Côtes du Rhône (Le Temps est Venu which we will sell elsewhere). He held his nerve through the rainy patches in September and the relatively late-picking has been rewarded with a superb range of wines. Stéphane compares their style, with more acidity and less alcohol than usual, to 2006, a vintage which has developed very nicely indeed.
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
Christine Vernay is close to being a perfectionist, so close in fact that she is sometimes reluctant to taste wines that have not been bottled for fear either of the fact that the work in progress will inevitably differ to a greater or lesser degree from the finished article or that the sample will be poor. To my mind, however, it’s like looking at a work of art, a Holbein drawing say, and then the finished painting. Both are sublime and the appreciation of the former informs that of the later. So it is with these exceptional wines; for Christine 2012 is an improvement on 2011. It flatters but it does not deceive.
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
The fruits of the labours of the eponymous Pape de Condrieu, now in the able hands of his daughter Christine and son-in-law Paul, continue to raise the bar for Viognier. Paul advises that the 2011 season was heterogène and tardive, before adding, with a twinkle in his eye, that he prefers later harvests. Complexity is engendered, and that famous mineral finish, re-defining any preconceived ideas that one may have had about Condrieu, is famous indeed this year.
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, February 2012
Our visit to Yves this year, despite its first-after-lunch graveyard slot, was one of the best of them all. Perhaps it was a fruit day! The wines were singing and Yves was composed and confident, clearly very happy with the vintage. For him the long ripening season of 2010, with its significant diurnal temperature variations, was the key to quality. The vigneron’s Grand Master chess skills were fully exercised in the decision of when to harvest… a tricky decision of course, each plot being different, but now, finally I understand the purpose of each of the many varied cuvées in the range and there appears to be some stability and a real sense of purpose in the winemaking….and not too much new oak now…..The enfant terrible has really come of age…
Bottle 12 x 75cl1cs
Drink now to 2018.
Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager
The sine qua non of the richer, oaky style of Condrieu, La Doriane has long been a key address in the appellation, always setting the example to be followed and reminding us that in the early days it was Monsieur Guigal who, almost single-handedly, saved the appellation from extinction. Pear, peach and more tropical elements dominate the nose whilst the elegant palate exhibits a rich, spicy, honeyed texture.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
The contribution of the Guigals to the reputation of the Rhône Valley should never be underestimated. Indeed, with the unpredictable genius of Messrs Chapoutier and the unpredictability full-stop of Messrs Jaboulet, the Guigals, père et fils, seem to provide a reassuring rock of certainty in the valley. The fact that they sell over six million bottles of their generic Côtes-du-Rhône is impressive indeed but should not distract us from the quality inherent in both these wines, from two of their own vineyards.
Bottle 6 x 75cl1cs
This Condrieu comes, traditionally, from the more restrained end of the spectrum. Be that as it may, the 2011 did not fail to inspire the taster’s imagination. The first words written were: orange peel, honeysuckle, apricot and Turkish delight. The conclusion, verbatim, was “viscous, idiosyncratic and luxuriant”. I think I liked it.