At his tiny Domaine, no expense is spared in the production of his stunning wines from the lowering of yields in the vineyards to the purchase of top quality new wood barrels each year. The Condrieus are made in a late-picked, relatively full style whilst retaining a mouthwatering mineral intensity, while the red St Joseph is a massive, yet fine-grained, wine that could forgivably be mistaken for Côte Rôtie.Body: medium
Color: yellow
Aromas: soft peach, white flower, orange blossom
What makes this wine so stunning is that it is made from younger Viognier in the Condrieu region known for its rich and complex wines. Francois Villard is a highly energetic, passionate winemaker with a background as a chef. He began making wines in 1989 and has not stopped moving since. He also owns a restaurant in Ampuis.
“Francois Villard makes one of the northern Rhone's most stunning Condrieus, but this talented young vintner also makes a haunting wine called "Les Contours de Deponcins," which is made from the Viognier grape but doesn't carry the Condrieu appellation. A vin de pays made from younger Condrieu vines, it is a little less rich than his official Condrieu, yet beautifully balanced, floral and elegant.” LA TIMES
Passion
Fruit: François Villard worked as a chef for a time, and is himself a solid menu whose specialities are fricassée of independence, carpaccio of energy, gratin of boldness and sauté of ambition. All liberally seasoned with intuition. Who would have thought, when he breezily started out in 1989, that nearly 20 years later he would be one of the leaders in the northern Rhône Valley? Without ever losing his look of mischief, François has pushed on with what felt, quite simply, like a calling. He has built it all through a craving for pleasure and work. Neither cranky nor fearful, he has driven his ideas to the limit – often by instinct. Over the years everything has gelled into solid experience, and the man has forged a vigneron’s well-tempered resilience. In 1993 came the first press article and his first selection in a guide: François skipped around his kitchen, as joyful as a schoolkid in a playground. The youngster had always dreamed of one day ranking among the great winemakers; he was not arrogant, it just seemed self-evident. Thus could he forever feel the “vine magic” that had beguiled him when, aged 20, he had met his first growers. Thus could he give lifelong roots to an emotion, the way he had felt when, in 1987, he had tasted the Condrieu of Lucien Desormeaux. In Poncins, where he planted his very first vine, is a big rock. Sometimes, on days of doubt, François goes to sit on it: what if the dream were to end? A classic bout of the blues for a hyperactive grower who will never depart from his true nature: he is a wine adventurer. (From the Rhone Vignobles website)Eat with: pastis scented steamed mussels, garlic, leeks, herbs, grilled bread
