Stéphane Montez’s family have been growing grapes in the Northern Rhône for ten generations and today have 23 hectares of prime vineyards in Condrieu, Côte Rôtie and Saint-Joseph. Like many people in the new order of Rhône winemaking, Stéphane believes in a reductive style of vinification in order to naturally extract and preserve all the fresh aromatics from his grapes. Although he cannot allude to the northern Rhône Viognier appellation on this label, the “baby Condrieu” (“Petit Viognier” is as close as he could get!) is made from declassified Condrieu fruit, young vine Condrieu fruit and a little Viognier from selected nearby vineyard sites, grown on granite soils. It spends nine months in 600L demi-muids to add complexity and harmony without overwhelming the delicious Viognier fruit character.
Le Petit Viognier is hugely appealing citrus, ripe apricot and vanilla with a delicious balance between generosity of fruit, elegant minerality and a touch of fresh ginger spice. This can be drunk fresh and young but it will also continue to develop richness in the bottle. Fabulous!