2019 Maison Clusel-Roche "Verchery" Condrieu

AOC: Condrieu

Terroir: adjoining localities "Vernon", "Chery", both located on the hillside of Chery, north of the Condrieu appellation, on biotite granite soils, very hot and very filtering. This hill faces due south.

Area: 0.5 ha

Grape variety: 100% Viognier, mass selections.

Age of the vines: 30 years Work of the vines:we cultivate our vines as naturally as possible. The work is completely manual, the relief and the terraces preventing any mechanization. The density is eight thousand vines per hectare. In winter, the soils remain naturally grassy. The vines are trellised on wire following the contour lines, the inter-row is sloping. The vines are pruned in simple Guyot. The soils are worked in spring and summer, with an electric pickaxe. We do not use chemical fertilizers, but composted manure, and only treat very moderately, without insecticides or synthetic chemicals. Our vines are made from old mass selections. These selections are less productive and result in grapes with more complex aromas than modern clonal selections.

Vinifications:The harvest is done by hand. Careful sorting is carried out in the vineyard by the pickers. Arrived at the cellar, the grapes are pressed and then settled in the cold. Fermentation is done mainly in barrels, and for a small part, in stainless steel vats, always with indigenous yeasts. The malolactics are done as a result. Aging: 1 year, in barrels, and in stainless steel vats. Fining and light filtration before bottling. Annual production: around 2000 bottles / year Keeping and peak: They can be drunk as soon as they are bottled, in order to take full advantage of their youthful aromas, but can also be kept for ten years. Our preference goes to wines from 4 to 5 years old.

Tasting:Our Condrieu is an aromatic wine (apricot, peach, honey, hawthorn ...), very fatty and not very acidic, and endowed with a beautiful minerality. Food and wine pairing: with shellfish, freshwater fish, sea fish that is not too iodized, or even with poultry. It also goes very well with the small rigottes of Condrieu, or young asparagus drizzled with a drizzle of olive oil.

Organic wine, certified by ECOCERT