2015 Les Vins de Vienne Condrieu La Chambee 750 ml

Leading Condrieu's New Generation 

Winning 95 points from Wine Spectator, the opulent, gold-hued 2015 Les Vins de Vienne Condrieu La Chambée is among the most stunning aromatic European whites we’ve tasted this year. Called “quietly one of the top bottlings of the appellation” by Spectator, this Viognier cuvée is crafted by Yves Cuilleron, Francois Villard, and Pierre Gaillard — a trio of superstar winemakers who engineered the Northern Rhône renaissance of the 1980s. 2015 was a historic year for the region’s whites, with Vinous raving, “’15 is a vintage for the ages…[with] more outstanding, potentially epic white wines from this vintage than from any year,” in recent memory. We have just 65 cases of this flawless, age-worthy effort from the stony slopes of Condrieu. Released at $85, just $54.99 — 35% off — from a brilliant estate “whose prices have yet to catch up to the quality they deliver,” says Vinous.

Rhône connoisseurs will tell you that what Côte de Nuits is for Pinot Noir, Condrieu is for Viognier. No other region of the world can match it for a combination of sensual, honeyed richness and crisp, wet stone minerality. The Romans considered the terroir superior even to Côte-Rôtie. It was that assessment of the ancients that drew third-generation winemaker Pierre Gaillard to the area. Cuilleron (“the leader of Condrieu's new generation of winemakers,” says Wine Spectator) and Villard (one of the “stars” of Northern Rhône, according to Robert Parker) soon followed. As the three masters joined forces, Vins de Vienne was born, bottling their first vintage in 1998.

Their efforts reached a new peak in the perfectly scripted 2015, a vintage that had critics and vignerons going back decades in search of a year of comparable magnificence for Northern Rhône whites. Like Pinot Noir, Viognier is a fickle, sensitive grape; yet in those rare seasons like 2015, blessed with cool nights and a dry summer, it delivers unforgettable power and elegance.