Pierre-Jean Villa : Fongeant 2021

An elegant and balanced Côte-Rôtie

The estate

Passionate about wine, Pierre-Jean Villa began his career selling Burgundy wines and then, from 1992 onwards, managed production and sales for great Burgundy estates such as Mommessin and Clos de Tart. In 2003, he joined the Domaine des Vins de Vienne in the Rhône Valley, a human adventure launched in 1996 by Yves Cuilleron, Pierre Gaillard and François Villard.
In 2009, Pierre-Jean Villa founded his own estate in his hometown of Chavanay, on the steep terraces of Saint-Joseph and Condrieu, with the ambition of producing great wines that authentically and precisely express the richness of these terroirs as well as the winemaker's ethos.
Grown in a vineyard farmed according to the principles of organic agriculture, the wines of Pierre-Jean Villa, “one of the most gifted winemakers of his generation” according to Bettane & Desseauve, are renowned for their freshness, their delicious appeal, their finesse and their remarkable precision.

The vineyard

The estate's vineyard covers a total of 17 hectares on both sides of the Rhône Valley across the iconic appellations of Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage, as well as the Seyssuel hillsides. The vines of Domaine Pierre-Jean Villa are on average 30 years old.

The wine

The Fongeant cuvée comes from the lieu-dit of the same name, located on the granite terraces of Côte-Rôtie, covered with gneiss, clay and iron oxide. The vines, over 60 years old, are gobelet-trained on individual stakes. The moderate continental climate, dry and hot in summer with regular rainfall for the rest of the year, promotes optimal ripening of the grapes.

Winemaking and ageing

The wine is vinified with 70% whole bunches, sorted on a vibrating table and carried to the vats by conveyor belt. Maceration lasts around twenty days. Ageing takes place over 24 months in barrels and 500-litre demi-muids, with racking 6 weeks before bottling.

Blend

Fongeant 2021 by Pierre-Jean Villa  is a 100% Syrah.