Condrieu

To name a wine ‘The stony slopes of Hell’ may appear somewhat melodramatic, but I suspect for all those picking the grapes on this stark steep granitic hillside, the name seemed apposite.  Two hectares with vines aged for 40 years are magnificently parsimonious in their yield, their fruits vinified for eighteen months on cask with lees stirring.  The result sings early summer meadows, hawthorn and jasmine, with dried apricot and honey in support.
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.

Although relatively recent additions to the portfolio, these two Condrieus are made with great skill. This example comes half from vines in Malleval and half in St Pierre-du-Boeuf; from the south of the appellation in other words. The wine undergoes full malolactic and is aged on lees in demi-muids. The nose is of apricot and white peach; the palate is honied and moreish, albeit held in check by an impressively tapered finish.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, February 2012

Young, dynamic and handsome, Stéphane Ogier has had another good year, purchasing some more prime vineyards, making some fantastic 2010s and celebrating the birth of his first son, Marius. His wine-making philosophy is intriguing, minutely sensitive to the requirements of both the vintage and the parcel in question. As a generalisation he prefers new wood and destemming for the Côte Blonde, and older wood and less destemming in the Côte Brune. But there are always exceptions... and the wines are always exceptional...

Our 2012 Rhône Vintage Recommendation: Favourite Northern Rhône White
Lush and peachy on the nose, this is a state-of-the-art Condrieu. Dense and peachy on the palate, with rich fruit, this is crisp, spicy and intense, while also being balanced and fine.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager

As the name suggests, these are the highest and most precipitous of Yves’ vineyards, close indeed to the legendary Coteau de Vernon, and  the source of a wine which is aged for longer than his other Condrieus. The result is fascinating, with almost contradictory notes of citrus fruit and honey broadening the spectrum provided by the other, more usual Condrieu descriptors.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer 

Yves Cuilleron compares 2012 to 2011; for him the vintage has more concentration and power than its immediate forebear. His house philosophy, whether by accident or design, mirrors the current fashions for later harvests and the addition of a varying degree of stems. Both engender structure and complexity when treated with due respect. Given that there is not the remotest sign of the green on the one hand or the over-ripe on the other, we can infer conspicuous success in these wines.

From older vines directly behind the revamped Chavanay winery Les Chaillets is a lieu –dit, its vines on unfailingly steep slopes. Aged for eight months in 30% new wood, this is very rich and complete Condrieu, with plums, apricots and ripe pears allied to spice and stone fruit, its distinctive generous character coming from the biotite granite which dominates the more southerly vineyards of the appellation.
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…