2015 Les Vins de Vienne, Conrdieu, Les Chambée, Northern Rhône, France.
Like some of Yves Cuilleron’s own efforts, especially his La Petite Côte, the delicately perfumed and stony 2015 Les Vins de Vienne Condrieu Les Chambée is a stylish effort with its own distinctive cascade of layers with a rush of honeysuckle, liquid mineral, crushed stones, peach/apricot and white licorice/fennel leading the way on the smooth refined palate that is almost like clarified cream without being heavy, it possesses graceful leesy mouth feel and has viscosity, but has energy and vigor as well maintaining a steely crisp integrity throughout. A warm vintage lushness is evident with subtle tropical note, but there’s an elegance and finesse here, along with a touch of flinty smoky mineral and saline elements that add complexity to the whole, as well as a natural vitality, that give a lift here. Les Vins de Vienne, a collaboration label between Northern Rhône stars, François Villard, Gaillard and the mentioned Yves Cuilleron, based in Seyssuel, started life by resurrecting ancient Roman vineyard sites that had been forgotten, and I first became aware of their team efforts with the glorious Sotanum (100% Syrah) back in the late 1990s. Across the river from the famous cru sites, most notably Hermitage, Côte Rôtie and Condrieu, on the hillsides north of Condrieu, near Vienne, in the northern part of the Rhône Valley, as mentioned, has Syrah and Viognier varietals mainly planted and Les Vins de Vienne produces three different IGP des Collines Rhodaniennes, including the Sotanum (red), the Taburnum (white) and Heluicum (red) from these vines. I do love the Sotanum 100% Syrah, old clone, Les Vins de Vienne, which is grown on Schist and Quartz soils that delivers a unique and rustic set of meaty flavors and lovely aromatics.
Over the Years the Cuilleron, Villard and Gaillard partnership Les Vins de Vienne added some impressive vineyard sites that didn’t fit their personal domaine labels, these include distinctive parcels spread among the top appellations and are all mostly single “Lieu Dit” bottlings, with micro editions from Côte Rôtie, Saint Joseph, Condrieu, as seen here, Saint Péray and Crozes-Hermitage. I have been a long time fan, as noted above, and I can’t believe they are still flying under the radar, especially with the quality to price ratio they deliver, year after year, and this Condrieu was a wonderful surprise in a lineup of Rhône wines, easily placing first with a bunch of educated wine enthusiasts. The Les Chambée is all Viognier grown on terraced plots with granite and loess soils and gently whole cluster pressed and fermented following tradition with indigenous yeasts in mostly used large French cask or Fûts. The Les Chambée, which sees a nine month elevage in barrel and is bottled typically without harsh filtering, is all hand crafted to promote terroir and varietal purity, which is exactly what is showing in the nicely mature 2015 version. I will note that the aromatics are toned down at this stage and the Les Chambée takes a while to full unwind, but wow, it does so with confidence and poise, this was excellent and expressive Viognier that goes beautifully with a variety of dishes, and soft cheeses, though I might suggest Moroccan lemon chicken, scallops, seared foie gras or pâte. In recent years I’ve gravitated to Yves Cuilleron’s own lineup, and interestingly enough, while I love his Syrahs, it has been his collection of whites that have impressed me most, especially his Saint-Joseph, the 100% Roussanne version called “Digue”, which is absolutely killer stuff, as well as the mentioned La Petite Côte Condrieu. If you’ve not heard of the Les Vins de Vienne label, you are not alone sadly, but you should search these wines out and again they offer a ton of pedigree and value.
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive