2016 Domaine Olivier Hillaire Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Petits Pieds d'Armand 750 ml

The Grenache Holy Grail: Power Without Weight

Olivier Hillaire is the winemaker-slash-brasserie owner who, with the help of 100-point consulting winemaker Philippe Cambie, turned out this monumental Châteauneuf in the Southern Rhône’s best-ever 2016 vintage. Wine Advocate praised the wine with 96 points, noting how it “shines with raspberry fruit and layers of dried spice complexity,” and is “full-bodied and rich yet silky, elegant and long on the finish, epitomizing the delicious contradictions that Grenache can present.”

That “delicious contradiction” is something that is usually achieved by a tiny fraction of top Barolos, Barbarescos, and Grand Cru Burgundies: the elusive quality of “power without weight.” Hillaire’s flagship bottling, like the august Château Rayas, is made from 100% Grenache, a variety that, when it is at its best, brings ripeness and power while remaining nimble and graceful. Hillaire’s 2016 nails that balance, and then some.

Just one place tells the story of the Olivier Hillaire’s 96-point masterpiece better than the stone-covered vineyard of La Crau, where 120-year-old Grenache vines grow out of the sandy soil: It’s a charmingbar à vins called La Part des Anges, located on a busy square in the town of Châteauneuf. That’s where the gregarious proprietor will pour you a ruby-red glass and, if he’s not too busy bussing tables, tell you everything there is to know about the bottling. If you ask, he might even reveal why he knows so much about the wine:

“Parce que je l’ai fait moi-même.” Because I made it myself.

It’s no accident that Hillaire found himself with access to three of the most sought-after acres in the La Crau vineyard. Planted in 1899, it’s the most famous vineyard in the region and the source of wines like the iconic La Vieux Télégraphe’s top bottling.

He had worked with the fruit when he was winemaker for Domaine des Relagne, the estate that belonged to his father-in-law. When his beau-père sold the estate, Hillaire convinced him to let him continue to source from this prime parcel of ancient vines. The outcome speaks for itself: Robert Parker says Hillaire has taken the former Relagne holdings and “changed the wines from very good to sensational.”

Sensational is a perfect description of Hillaire’s 2016 marquee bottling. This is what the Southern Rhône is all about: ancient-vine Grenache from an iconic vineyard, in the hands of two masters. Don’t miss it, and don’t hesitate to put it up against the best bottlings of Châteauneuf —and you know exactly which ones we’re talking about.