WB Rhône Appellation Weekly Tasting – Week 2: Condrieu/ Chateau Grillet

Welcome once again to the second installment of our Rhone series. This week we travel just around the bend in the river from Côte Rôtie and into the viognier based wines of Condrieu and the 3.8ha enclave of Chateau Grillet. This should be interesting as this is really the only time during this series where we get to focus solely on white wines.

There isn’t a substantial difference in growing conditions than what we’ve been able to discuss regarding Côte Rôtie: south/ south-east facing steep slopes to maximize sun exposure and protection from the Mistral, but somewhat dissimilar soils. In Terroir, James Wilson explains, “the abundance of micas in the heterogeneous granites of Condrieu produces good clay binding for the gritty soils and may contribute to the suppleness which characterizes Condrieu wines with their delicate but elusive bouquet redolent of apricots and violets.”

As discussed with Côte Rôtie, the popularity of the wines in the last two decades has increased substantially and as a result, the area under vine has risen to over 100 ha. This may not seem that much, but as early as 1990, only 40 ha were legally allowed to be labeled as “Condrieu AC” wine. Additionally, vinification techniques and the use of oak vary considerably between producers… coupling this with the vineyard expansion can only add to large differentiation in styles and quality.

Moving on to Chateau Grillet, a small amphitheater within Condrieu is one of France’s smallest wine appellations. It is also a “monopole” owned by Neyret-Gache since its existence in 1830, but not granted AC until 1936. Dissimilar to many Condrieu wines that are meant to be drunk young, Ch Grillet spend 2 years in a combination of new and used oak and are meant to be drunk with maturity.

It should be noted, that although many consider this some of the best terroir for white wine in the Rhone, Isabelle Baratin, took over the winery in 1994 when the head of the estate since 1960, her father, died. Many agree that since that point, the quality of the wine has failed to live up to expectations. Then, in March of this year French billionaire, François Pinault (owner of Ch Latour and Dm d’Eugenie) purchased the property, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Quick note: We went for 2 weeks on Côte Rôtie, but from here on out we will be rotating weekly, starting on Mondays according to the following schedule (as previously posted):
Saint Joseph – August 8th
Crozes Hermitage - August 15th
Hermitage – August 22nd
Cornas - August 29th
Vinsobres/ Rasteau (Dry) – September 5th
Gigondas/ Vacqueras – September 12th
Châteauneuf du Pape – September 19th
Lirac/ Tavel (Rosé) – September 26th
Beaumes de Venis (VDN)/ Rasteau (VDN)/ Saint Péray (sparkling) – October 3rd

Cheers!

Mark,
Thanks so much for taking on this segment. Looking forward to the coming weeks.
Tim

Very interesting…thanks for that insight. Condrieu, really sensual Condrieu, is a weak point in my otherwise diligent focus on lean and mean minerality. I feel like the best of these can have the hedonistic power and maintain ethereal minerality (albeit a much heavier mineral than chalk).

I enjoy both wines quite a bit, but have to say that the direction Condrieu has gone has not generally been to my taste. The Guigal La Doriane style is just gross to me. Even when not emulating that wine, too many Condrieu are just too high in alcohol relative to the weight Viognier can handle dry.

Grillet has “suffered” from benign neglect rather than actively doing anything bad. As such, the wines do not show well young and get neglected by critics and consumers. They then blow-up into something properly unique and beautiful with time. Recent note :

[*]1997 Château-Grillet (Neyret-Gachet) Château-Grillet - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Château-Grillet (6/1/2011)
Really good. Took a little while to mesh itself then lovely acidic spine, pears and a mineral winding around. A slight creaminess to the finish. Nicely balanced and very lovely.

Another Condrieu that I had always heard could age was Rostaing’s La Bonnette. It wasn’t until a chance encounter on the list at Kittle House (lunch w/ Dan) that I was able to test that :

[*]1991 Rene Rostaing Condrieu La Bonnette - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (5/13/2010)
Found by me on the wine list and it leapt out since Claude Kolm told me years ago that La Bonnette was the ‘other’ Condrieu-y wine which aged well. Amazing wine. Intense nose with apricot and fruit kernel oil that was totally twisted by a palate-sense that was pure mineral. I mean, really pure mineral. A precise and controlled wine like perfect power tool that also had hidden layers. I loved this wine.

Lastly, there was a strong tradition (I was told) of making Condrieu a sweet or off-dry wine. That is way in the minority now with Yves Cuilleron being the only (sometime) practitioner. I find his dry Condrieu too potpourri-ish and alcoholic any more, but his 07 Chaillets had mineral lashings. His sweeter wines have shown well and continued to improve with time. The Essence is a full-blown sweet wine. The Ayguets is more VT in styling. Most recent notes:

• 1999 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Essence d’Automne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (6/1/2011)
  Nice interplay of honey sweet and a floral tinged acidity.
• 2001 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Ayguets - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (4/15/2007)
  Hanzell Vertical (Union Restaurant, Seattle.): White pepper on the nose with warm roasted stone fruits. Some floral and a malty sweetness and good acidity. very soft texture. Smoother and rounder than 3.5 years ago with less flowers or mineral, but richer body and texture.

Posted from CellarTracker

A.


Posted from CellarTracker

a funny story about Chateau Grillet

When I was getting in to wine in the 1980s, with Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book as my guide, Grillet was one of those wines I had to try. I think HJ gave it his top rating, and said to drink it whenever you could as it was so rare.

So, I was the way to the South of France with my parents and sister. We had just passed Vienne on the Autoroute and decided to pull off for lunch hoping to go the Beaurivage in Condrieu. It was full, and we were too late anyway. We tried a few places nearby, again, mostly either full or too late, and eventually ended up at a classic “sporting bar” just of the Route Nationale in Verin.

To my delight and surprise Ch Grillet was on the wine list for what seemed like a song. We drank a bottle and I then asked the owner if we could buy some bottles off the list. He shrugged in a very Gallic way, beckoned me outside, and suggested we drive 200m up the road and go the Chateau itself…

We pulled up outside the door to the cellar. Rang the bell and waited. And waited. Eventually, an old 2CV appeared in the distance. Out got a very grizzled Frenchman who told me in no uncertain terms that they had no wine to sell and for us to be on our way. As i translated his missive into English for my parents benefit, his tone suddenly changed. This is where I must apologise in advance to my German friends: “Oh, you are English ! I saw your car [a BMW] and assumed you must be German. Please come inside…” Apparently M Neyret-Gachet, in whose estemeed presence we had found ourselves, hadn’t forgiven events of 30 years earlier.

Suffice to say, we bought some wine (which we continued to do for the following decade at least) and went on our way.

Georges Vernay is/was similarly crusty. At a casual dinner in his tasting room in 1996, prepared by Mrs. Vernay, I bemoaned to a friend who was with me that there were no vegetables all night, just sausages, hams, pates and cheeses. When my friend told Mr. Vernay, he acted as if he were affronted, and disappeared for a while, and came back with a huge jar of cornichons. He put it in front of me and said “these are the only vegetables we eat around here; who needs them!” The crowd of 6-7, primed on various vintages of his Condrieus, roared. I must say I even found it hilarious.

The Vernay Condrieus are the only ones that have consistently thrilled me over the last 20 years. Though out of my price range now, the Coteau de Vernon, the top wine, is a wine without peers for Condrieu, in my experience. I’ve had 20 year old wines that sang and think that they need 7-8 years to get to a great point. Mmmmm…And, the perfect wine, for me, in Maine- or anywhere-- with a steamed lobster and melted lemon-butter. I’ve tried them “all” and the Vernay Condrieu is the only one that I view as a “perfect” combo.

Mr. Neyret-Gachet wasn’t alone…in his sentiments at the time, I think.

And, though Condrieu has such a hauty reputation, its makers are very much terriens– earthy people, ironically.

These stories are incredible. You do get a bit of that here in Burgundy, but from what I can gather the “fermée” sign tends to come up a little more often when they arrive at the cave. I guess they love to drink, but not much into any purchases. The Belgians are a different story… They love both.

I wanted to briefly get into my Grillet story… This spring I was able to taste my first Grillet. To me, this was the legendary terroir in France. I was in a friend’s cellar recently and he was gracious enough to open a 2000 for me.

I will be forever grateful, but, well. I really didn’t know what to think… To me, its a very confusing wine, at least this vintage and this bottle. The nose was extremely muted… dead flowers, a bit of lime, but you really had to shake it up to get any nuances. The palate, which I was surprised by, was dominated by very present perceivable acid… some lime, some tropical fruit and a bit dead flowers and a fairly short finish. My main note, was “waxy.”

I really wanted to love this wine and that is possibly why I was a bit disappointed or was I missing something? In the end, I just don’t think there was enough on the palate to balance out the acid. Maybe it was just closed. Soon, I hope to try another Grillet and compare, but for now that’s all I have to go with.

I had given up on Condrieu, having had some heavy, phenolic, oaked examples that all seemd to cost $100. My Grillet examples have been bad–hopefully bad bottles–the last-2001-horribly lactic–tasted like limberger cheese. I have had some very nice Vernay wines, but too expensive for what they are.

However, last year thru a friend had a revelatory bottle of 2006 Andre Perret Condrieu Clos Chanson. Beautiful wine with flowers, quince, beeswax, and a little ginger. None of the Condrieu heaviness that mars so many other bottlings. Blind, I would have had no idea what this wine was.

I like Vernay too, but so pricey now. If you haven’t treated yourself to one of Yves Gangloff’s creations, you owe it to yourself to do that before you close the book on Condrieu (though his are usually even more expensive than the Vernays). Another good one tried recently (quasi-ironically in the company of our fine host of the recently-completed Burgundy appelation series! ):

"2004 Francois Villard De Poncins Condrieu

I’d not had a Villard and I’m very picky about my Condrieu, but Laurent at Caves Madeleine assured me I wouldn’t be disappointed. You can take his recommendation to the bank. Intense and effusive honey, honeysuckle, melon and peach scents waft out of the glass. And the tongue finds it just as good, fabulous mouthfeel with honeyed acacia and some just-ripening pineapple. Terrific stuff."

To Andrew Hall,
I think I was somewhat spoiled as the first Condrieu I ever had was the Rene Rostaing “La Bonnette.” You mentioned Yves Cuilleron sweet wines–coincidentally the bottle of Condrieu I came across recently to purchase was a wine from that producer, the 2007 you mentioned.

2007 YVES CUILLERON CONDRIEU “LES CHAILLETS,” Chavanay, Rhone, France
14% alcohol by volume 375 ml. bottle for $36.99 at 3Cups, Chapel Hill, NC
Imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchant. Side label says from terraced vineyard of the North part of the Rhone Valley, selection of the best parcels with granitic soil. (Viognier grape)
Pale gold color with perhaps a faint greenish tint and some transparency. Apple, unripe peach and pineapple touches intermingle on the note. On the palate a smokiness mixes with stone fruits and mineral elements. Piquant and has a rich texture.

Phenomenal stories from Stephen and Stuart. Vernay is absolutely lovely stuff and I would like to drink more of it when afforded the opportunity, but the price indeed has become prohibitive. Woe.