Tight, discreet, restrained and coiled are some of the epithets attached to young Château-Grillet, alongside a finely spun texture, with notes of pear, orange blossom and apricot, and then a notable amertume (bitterness) on the finish, which some suggest is reminiscent of grapefruit. With age, the palate gains richness, increasing the floral imprint but also bringing truffle and honey, while the finish is always mineral with smoky, salty, iodine length.
Upon arrival to the cellar, the grapes are chilled before whole-bunch pressing. The juice settles for 24 to 48 hours before wild fermentation, which finishes in barrel, where the wine always undergoes malolactic conversion. It ages for approximately 12 months in barrel, sometimes more, before the wine rests another six to eight months in stainless still vats. In a departure from the previous regime, only one new 300-litre barrel is added to the cellar each year, which equates to roughly 20% new wood in the blend. The rest of the wine ages in second- to fourth-use wood.
Grillet’s aging potential defies logic. Ten to 15 years seems to be the general view, and while this sounds inexplicable for Viognier, Château-Grillet is an enigma. William Kelley recently posted an image of a late 1970s Grillet that looked impossibly bright. But that is the magic of this terroir. It is famed for its uncanny ability to age and is remarkably distinctive and unique. It is a wine of place rather than varietal expression from a terroir that delivers more restraint and minerality than we generally expect of Condrieu.