You have to see Château Grillet to truly appreciate it. An amphitheatre of terraced vines is carved into the perilously steep slopes overlooking the Rhône river. The small property sits below the majority of the vineyard, with lower terraces spreading right and left, and some new plantings curling away upriver towards Lyon.
Production is small – the entirely-Viognier vineyard is 3.75 hectares in size, and only a percentage of this makes the cut to become the flagship bottling. Though planted to the same variety as adjacent Condrieu, this monopole appellation makes wines that are a style of their own, ageing wonderfully in ways most Viognier simply cannot. Often the wines need time in bottle to open up, in great contrast to most Condrieus which are at their best almost from the moment they are bottled. The name itself suggests why – grillet, or burned, refers to the suntrap that is the south-facing vineyards here. This spot of land has its own microclimate that sets it apart.
Since its acquisition by the Pinault family in 2011, the estate has undergone a complete transformation with a renovation of the winery and overhaul of the vineyard and farming practices. The wines have never been better; the oak has been turned down, replaced with detailed fruit and chiselled structure.
The 2020 is a fantastic rendition of the style, with a 98-point review from Nicolas Greinacher of Vinous. Opening by saying the wine "knocks it out of the park", he details the "outstanding purity and complexity" and "finesse and intensity rarther than power". Just 6,900 bottles were produced of 2020 Château Grillet, but we have a small parcel of three packs that will be available for delivery in 3-4 weeks.
