Description
Perret’s approach to winegrowing is classic: respect each individual terroir—he produces several single-vineyard wines—and work the soil to avoid the need for chemical treatments. His goal is to make fresh, structured wines, in “a sort of Burgundian style” as he says, but without too much wood; wines that aren’t too worked over and will age well. His Condrieu bottlings are reference points for the entire appellation. In 1995 André built a new cellar, but he has never expanded beyond the very best terroirs and keeps the estate small so he can maintain his standards of manual labour in the vineyards and individual attention to all of his wines.
100% Viognier // Age of vines: 20 years // Fermentation 50% stainless steel vats, 50% in wooden vats. // Maturing: 12 months (regular stirring of the lees followed by racking)
Tasting Notes
While the 2019 Condrieu is a bit quiet on the nose, it explodes on the palate into waves of apricot, melon and pineapple fruit. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, yet complex, spicy, mouthwatering, long and refreshing on the finish, it’s as good a “basic” Condrieu as you’re likely to find. Drink it over the next several years. [94 Points, Joe Czerwinski – January 2022, robertparker.com]
