Château-Grillet AOC

Château- Grillet is a vineyard with its own Appellation d' Origine for white wine in the northern part of the French Rhone Valley. The contiguous vineyard with an area of ​​3.8 hectares is allocated to the two communes of Saint -Michel- sur -Rhône and Vérin. It is located on the orographic right side of the Rhône and is embedded in the growing area of Condrieu.

Since December 8, 1936 this small area enjoys the status of a Appellation d' Origine ( AOC short ). It is named after the Grand Cru La Romanée -Conti Romanée in Burgundy and one of the smallest appellations in France. The vineyard was since 1820, owned by the family Neyret - Gachet and was sold in March 2011 on the Pinault -Holding Artemis to the französisxchen industrialist François Pinault, who has already bought about Artemis more wineries, including the legendary Château Latour Château Latour in Bordelais. This results in the rare situation that a complete appellation owned by a single owner is. The estate is called Château Grillet (without hyphen).

Soil, climate and winemaking

The vineyard is laid on extremely steep terraces up to 150 meters above the Rhone. It lies at an altitude 165-250 m and forms a small basin with optimum south-south - east direction. He is thus protected from cold north winds, and has a warm microclimate with balanced amounts of precipitation. The word originally comes from the French word Grillet cricket ( grilled or roasted), alluding to the sunny location. The subsoil consists of a granite that is rich in mica. Meanwhile, weathering product, a sand - clay mixture, forms the vineyard floor.

In 2005, approximately 3 hectares of vines in production, where in 2005 90 hectoliters of wine were produced - ie 12,000 bottles. In the middle is the yield per hectare at about 26 hectoliters, well below the allowable limit of 37 hl / ha, the low yield is also a consequence of the advanced age of the vines. The plantings are 40 or 80 years old. Approved only a single grape variety: the very aromatic Viognier.

The wine is fermented for 15-20 days at comparatively high temperatures of 20-25 ° C. Following the malolactic fermentation, it is then at least 18 months, but usually extended 24 months in used oak barrels mainly. A barrel taste is not sought. This type of vinification and aging in casks the Viognier his outstanding fruitiness is lost, but he is gaining longevity. From the intensely fruity wines of the surrounding territory Condrieu thus it differs considerably. A mature Château- Grillet developed a reminiscent of honey, quince, peaches and toasted almonds bouquet.

History

The many travelogues acclaimed in the 17th and 18th century white wine enthusiasts including the mathematician Blaise Pascal and the U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. The Château- Grillet had at that time but a different character: By the end of the 19th century it was read over-ripe and expanded sweet.

In the course of phylloxera and the world economic crisis, the intractable vineyards of Condrieu were largely abandoned - only began in the 1980s there the Renaissance. The excellent reputation preserved Château -Grillet from this fate. Due to the low income, the elaborate expansion and monopoly position of the wine is expensive and hardly to be had from Château for less than 30 € / bottle. Little enthusiasm come the wines of Château- Grillet the American " wine guru " Robert Parker. The reason for this may lie in the fact that only 25% of production is exported.