Château-Grillet 2016

Château-Grillet is its own appellation, a walled amphitheatre of granite terraces above the Rhône planted to Viognier alone.

The vineyard covers about 3.5 hectares, grown from 1.7 hectares in 1979, and is cut into roughly a hundred stone-walled terraces facing south between 150 and 200 metres above the river; the name is generally read as “burnt”, after the heat the slope traps. The soil is biotite granite, free-draining and quick to warm, and every operation has to be carried out by hand. Since Artémis Domaines took the property from the Neyret-Gachet family in 2011 the walls have been rebuilt, the vines retrained, farming moved to biodynamics and the cellar reorganised so each parcel can be pressed and fermented separately in small tanks. Ageing takes place across some twenty-five vessels of varying size, including demi-muids and an amphora, with only one or two new barrels bought in a year. Production runs to about two thousand bottles.

It rewards several years in bottle and is often better decanted. Serve at 10-12°C with lobster, roast veal or a mildly spiced dish of chicken.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.