Wine Region: Rhone Valley - France
Grapes: 100% Viognier
Tasting notes: Fruity and sensual nose. Aromas of apricot, honeyed peach, pear juice and guava. If the attack is ample and generous, one perceives very quickly this characteristic iodized salinity and a peppery minerality which underline the energy and the verticality of the wine. The finish is straight and impressively long.
Story: "Les Chaillées de l’Enfer" translates to “Terraces of hell” owing to the stone walls that form terraces for the plot and because this area can capture intense heat. It’s made up of vines that are 50+ years old and some date back to 1957. ‘Les Chaillées de l’Enfer’ also offers a pure expression of Condrieu but with less intensity and minerality than the ‘Coteau de Vernon’.
About the winery: Domaine Georges Vernay is one of the oldest and most famous estates in Condrieu. Georges highly contributed to the reintroduction of Viognier on the hillsides of the region when in 1960’s the appellation used to cover only 8 hectares.
Today the domaine is managed by Georges’ daughter Christine and her husband Paul. The vineyard covers 8 hectares in Condrieu, 2.5 hectares in Côte-Rôtie and 1.5 hectares in Saint-Joseph and the rest being located in IGP Collines Rhôdaniennes and Côtes-du-Rhône. Their Condrieu are made from vineyards in the heart of the appellation and all express the purest; most restrained expression of the Viognier grape.
For over 20 years, Christine Vernay has used organic farming methods. Considering herself as the custodian of a land for which she is responsible for caring, she has long been committed to organic farming, long before it was fashionable or urgent to do so. She has now successfully demonstrated that, while it is difficult to work the steeply sloping vineyards using organic farming, it is not impossible.
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