Viognier reaches its most sublime expression in the tiny village and AOC of Condrieu, in the Northern Rhone. Francois Villard has his fingers on the pulse of this oft-difficult varietal, and Team Table Wine fully endorses this as OUR TOP WHITE WINE OF 2023!
Do with that what you will, but understand that we have a love/hate relationship with Viognier. When it's good, it produces a white wine with heavenly aromatics, brilliant texture, and a finish that lasts for days. When it's not so good, it can be a boozy, syrupy, and unbalanced mess.
I promise you this is the good stuff. Me and my team talk about the bottle we enjoyed a couple of weeks ago on a daily basis. For the time being, it's in the "no employee purchase" category, as I'm saving it all for you :) They're chomping at the bit though...
2020 Francois Villard Condrieu DePoncins
96 points Decanter, 94 points Wine Spectator
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Francois Villard is fairly new on the scene, but man, this guy's wines really do it for me. His 2020 Condrieu DePoncins takes you on a sensory journey that you don't want to end. It explodes out of the glass with hedonistic notes of white peach, pineapple, mango, apricot, white florals, and spice. Just as joyous on the palate, all of that overt richness is reined in by juicy and mineralic acidity.
Every sip re-enforces the fact that wine is the greatest alcoholic beverage on the planet. How something made from fruit can taste so transcendental is the thing that wine "HAS" over beer, whiskey, and Scotch. That's just my opinion and I'm a bit biased, but I just call it like I smell, taste, and savor it :)
Great Britain's Decanter loved it just as much! "Full-bodied, with quite noticeable oak at this stage. Wonderful sense of freshness, however, and great precision. Long, lush and generous yet defined, this is a very classic Condrieu in all its resplendent flamboyance. Cooling almond and coconut on the finish."
Those in the know are very aware of the fact that Francois Villard is one of the underrated stars of the Northern Rhone. A native of the French countryside, he grew up in Vienne and Grenoble, and prior to becoming a "wine chef," he was a "food chef." The wine bug caught him though, and he made his first vintage of Condrieu in 1991, a whopping 400 bottles. Today, his production has risen, but not by much....just 30 cases of this wine made their way to the US.
A truly profound white wine, I actually don't recommend serving it with anything elaborate. Maybe some cheese and baguette, but nothing more than that. Let the wine be the main course! 84 precious bottles up for grabs -- get some before my staff plans a mutiny....
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Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville