Domaine Francois Villard Les Contours de Mairlant White wine 2023

The domain

Today, Domaine François Villard covers 30 hectares and produces around twenty cuvées. This wine enthusiast has succeeded in bringing this estate to the top and has become one of the leaders in the Northern Rhône Valley, a well-deserved success given the high demand for François Villard cuvées.

FRANÇOIS VILLARD, A PASSION FOR GOOD WINE

François Villard, a chef by training with a passion for wine, began acquiring his first plots of land in the spring of 1989, in the commune of Saint Michel (lieu-dit Poncins) in the Condrieu appellation. Before that, he trained as a sommelier in Tain l'Hermitage and obtained a ‘viti-œno’ certificate in Mâcon. His internship with Yves Cuilleron enabled him to expand Domaine François Villard to 8 hectares in 1990 and then 12 in 2005. The first 400 bottles went on sale in autumn 1992. His purchase of vines in Saint-Péray in 2006 and his trade in grapes enabled him to produce Vins de Vienne.

DOMAINE VILLARD GRADUALLY GOES ORGANIC

As a self-taught winegrower, François Villard likes to pick his grapes late and concentrate them, so as to achieve perfect ripeness rather than over-ripeness. Francois Villard would like to go more organic, but working the soil can be difficult, as the terraces are very difficult to plough. Domaine Villard has therefore tried a different approach and to do things differently wherever possible, so treatments and weedkillers have been eliminated except on certain plots which require particular effort.

FRANÇOIS VILLARD WINE, PURE WINEMAKING INGENUITY

The many François Villard wines are produced under different appellations, including Condrieu, with the now famous Le Condrieu Villard, Saint Joseph, Côte Rôtie and Saint Peray. François Villard works with Viognier and, more recently, Syrah, which gives the wine good ageing potential. Each vintage inspires him. Both in the puns he uses to name his cuvées and in creating new ones. Which explains the proliferation of labels (up to 18!), enough to make even the most eclectic oenophile lose his cellar patience.