Château GRILLET - Côtes du Rhone - Blanc 2019
Château-Grillet is both an appellation and a producer of the Rhône Valley. It is one of the first appellations created in France; the wine history of Château-Grillet dates back to the 3rd century, and the notoriety of the estate and its wines can be found through the ages (for example, the Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais had around 300 bottles of Château-Grillet in her cellar). Château-Grillet was listed as a National Heritage in 1976, and was bought in 2011 by François Pinault, also owner of Château Latour in Bordeaux. The 3.5-hectare vineyard is located south of the famous village of Condrieu and planted with the Viognier grape variety.
Each stage of the work in the vineyard is carried out by hand. Each plot is pressed and vinified individually to retain the characteristics specific to each terrace. The wines are then aged in French oak barrels of which around 20% are new, and the final blend is carefully made from these barrels.
From the 2011 vintage, the technical team decided on an even stricter selection for the wines going into the Château-Grillet blend. Analysis and comparative tasting of the different parcels showed that certain wines have not yet achieved the high level required for Château-Grillet. Nevertheless, this has allowed them to create an excellent Côtes-du-Rhône, made entirely from Viognier.
Grape variety: 100% Viognier