François Villard : Jouvet 2023

Characteristics and Tasting Tips for the Jouvet 2023 by François Villard

Tasting

This Jouvet is dense without ever being heavy, carried by a balance and a voluptuousness that nonetheless remain true to its origins. The structured body is wrapped in a silky texture, the true signature of this cuvée, described as a wine of character in a velvet glove. The 13% alcohol contributes to this sensation of freshness and drinkability, while the wine promises to improve with age.

Food and Wine Pairing

This Jouvet is an ideal match for a beef fillet, whose tenderness complements the wine's polished tannic structure.

Serving and Cellaring

Jouvet 2023 has a stated cellaring potential of fifteen years.

A Cornas Between Power and Silkiness

The Estate

The François Villard estate was founded in 1989 in Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône, in the northern Rhône Valley, by François Villard, a former cook who became a sommelier and then a winemaker. Still run today by its founder and owner, the estate now extends over approximately 45 hectares, certified organic since August 2022, and covers almost all of the northern Rhône appellations. Villard first made his name with his Condrieu Viogniers before extending his expertise to Syrah-based reds, including this Cornas Jouvet.

The Vineyard

Jouvet comes from Syrah vines in the Cornas appellation, around fifteen years old and planted at a high density of 8,000 vines per hectare. Trained in cordon de Royat and gobelet systems, they are rooted in decomposed quartz-rich granite, a soil typical of the appellation, free-draining and marked by a strong mineral signature. The east-to-south orientation of the plots provides an exposure that combines morning light with more intense sunshine during the middle hours of the day.

Vinification and Ageing

Jouvet 2023 is harvested 100% as whole clusters, then fermented for eight days in open wooden vats. Ageing continues for eighteen months in barrels between five and seven years old, a choice that preserves the purity of the fruit while contributing a nuanced tannic structure, without excessive oak influence.

Grape Variety

100% Syrah.