François Villard : Le Grand Vallon 2021

Characteristics and tasting advice for Grand Vallon 2021 by François Villard

Tasting

Appearance

The wine shows a golden lemon-yellow hue, typical of a young viognier from the Condrieu terroirs.

Nose

The nose reveals remarkable aromatic complexity, combining notes of apricot, stone fruits and exotic fruits such as pineapple. Floral touches of lavender mingle with citrus aromas, notably mandarin zest. The bouquet is enhanced by mineral nuances reminiscent of granite, alongside subtle honeyed notes and spice brought by barrel aging.

Palate

On the palate, this wine charms with its broad, creamy texture while retaining remarkable precision. The palate unfolds concentrated flavors of melon and apricot, carried by vibrant freshness and fine energy. The full, silky structure is perfectly balanced by lively acidity that brings brightness. The finish lingers elegantly, leaving an impression of controlled richness and pronounced minerality.

Food and wine pairings

This Condrieu pairs beautifully with seafood and shellfish, notably lobster with butter or simply prepared scallops. It also matches fatty fish such as grilled salmon, herb-roasted poultry, as well as dishes based on white meats in a creamy sauce. Aged goat cheeses or blue cheeses such as Roquefort also make excellent pairings. For a more original match, this wine elevates aromatic Thai cuisine or mildly spiced Moroccan tagines.

Serving and cellaring

Grand Vallon 2021 is best enjoyed at a temperature between 14 and 16°C. It is recommended to open the bottle about fifteen minutes before serving to allow the wine to fully express itself. This wine can be enjoyed now but also offers cellaring potential through around 2031, thanks to its balanced structure and fine acidity, which will allow it to evolve harmoniously.

Other characteristics

This dry wine shows remarkable aromatic intensity while maintaining a freshness that reflects the 2021 vintage and the elegant approach favored by the estate.

A mineral, elegant Condrieu from the Northern Rhône Valley

The estate

Founded in 1989, Domaine François Villard now spans 42 hectares of estate-owned vines, complemented by 25 hectares under contract, in the Northern Rhône Valley. François Villard, a former chef who retrained as a winemaker after studying sommelier training and then viticulture and oenology in Burgundy, began with a confidential production of 400 bottles of Condrieu in 1991. Today, the estate produces around 400,000 bottles annually across the full range of Northern Rhône appellations. Since 2023, the entire vineyard has been certified organic by ECOCERT. François Villard’s style has evolved over the decades, moving from an opulent, oaky approach in the 1990s to a philosophy that favors elegance, freshness and authentic terroir expression, with minimal sulfur use and exclusively spontaneous fermentations.

The vineyard

Grand Vallon comes from a specific parcel named Grand Val, located in the commune of Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf, one of the seven communes authorized to produce Condrieu. The vineyard lies on dark biotite magmatite soils, rich in iron and magnesium, which give the wine its distinctive minerality. The viognier vines, around twenty years old, are planted at a density of 7,000 vines per hectare on steep terraces with an east to southeast exposure. This aspect provides morning and midday sun while benefiting from afternoon cooling, thus promoting an optimal balance between ripeness and freshness. Harvesting is carried out by hand, with several successive passes to select grapes at optimal ripeness.

The vintage

The 2021 vintage in the Vallée du Rhône proved atypical and demanding. After a mild winter, spring was marked by frosts, followed by abundant rainfall and a few hail episodes. Despite these climatic challenges, cooler temperatures and a late harvest made it possible to obtain grapes showing an excellent balance between phenolic ripeness and acidity. These conditions favored the production of elegant, fresh wines with fine finesse—traits that perfectly match the estate’s philosophy. The 2021 vintage thus stands out for its balanced character and natural freshness.

Winemaking and aging

Grand Vallon 2021 is crafted with an approach that respects the fruit and the terroir. After direct pressing of whole clusters, the must is fermented at low temperature directly in barrels with indigenous yeasts, with no addition of commercial yeasts. Aging takes place over a total of sixteen months: twelve months in barrel on fine lees without racking, allowing the wine to develop texture and complexity, followed by four months in stainless-steel tanks to stabilize the wine before bottling. The barrel program favors subtlety with only 10% new barrels, the rest made up of older casks, in order to preserve the aromatic purity of viognier and the mineral expression of the terroir.

Grape variety

100% viognier