Chateau Grillet

The history

According to legend, in the 3rd century, Emperor Probus brought grapevines from Dalmatia to this mountainside, and the sun-baked hills gave the place its name. This place also served as a retreat for scholarly intellectuals. Girard Desargues, a surveyor, architect, and advisor to Richelieu, retired to Château Grillet in 1648, during the Fronde. His friend Blaise Pascal stayed here in 1652 and mentioned this wine in *Pensées*.

By the late 18th century, bottles of this wine began to appear wherever money and refined palates converged. Thomas Jefferson visited this place in 1787. An inventory compiled in 1814 at Malmaison, the residence of Empress Joséphine, lists 296 bottles of Château Grillet as one of the finest wines in the cellar, and in 1829, James Christie purchased this wine for King George IV. At the time, its price was on par with, or even higher than, that of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie.

In the 20th century, the winery's most ardent supporter was Fernand Point, who was a chef in Vienne; his restaurant, La Pyramide, was the first to earn three Michelin stars. He served this wine regularly and corresponded for many years with Mr Gachet, who owned the estate at the time.

The Baratin family had owned the estate since 1830. In 1994, just as the harvest was beginning, Isabelle Baratin suddenly inherited the estate when her father passed away unexpectedly; for many years, she ran the estate almost single-handedly, learning the ropes and gradually renovating it.

In 2011, she sold the property to François Pinault's Groupe Artémis, the owner of Château Latour (in Pauillac) and Domaine d'Eugénie (in Burgundy). This sale brought to a close nearly two centuries of family ownership and ushered in a new chapter marked by considerable investment.

Four hectares, one block

Château Grillet is a contiguous vineyard that, according to the vineyard's estimates, covers approximately 4 hectares. There are no scattered plots, nor are there any outlying plots located in other communes. Everything is right here.

The steep, terraced vineyard stretches along the slope in a horseshoe shape from the south toward the southeast; the Rhône lies below, and hills surround it from behind. This amphitheater-like shape is not a metaphor but the actual topography of the site, and it is always highlighted as a key feature when describing the property.

Because the vineyard is completely enclosed by Condrieu, there are no neighbors within the appellation. A single owner possesses all of this land, which is why the estate name and the appellation name are the same.

The terroir

The location is what makes the difference. The bowl-shaped terraced vineyards gather light and trap heat; the name of this place itself derives from the sun-scorched hills. The south-facing terrain on the steep slopes of the northern Rhône is a major advantage, and this vineyard is one of the prime examples that showcases that advantage.

Machinery cannot be used in terraced vineyards like this. Because of the steep slopes, manual labor is essential.

Shade is just as important as sunlight. Set between Vérin and Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône, this vineyard has a river flowing along the base of the slope.

Viognier

A single grape variety. Château Grillet is planted exclusively with the Viognier variety, the very same variety that characterizes the surrounding Condrieu region, and the wine produced here is a pure, single-varietal white wine.

This is unusual even by the standards of the northern Rhône region, as blending becomes quite common the further south one goes. 

The winemaking

In 2000, Isabelle Baratin hired Denis Dubourdieu, a consultant from Bordeaux, to oversee improvements to the winemaking process and simultaneously carried out renovations on the property. There was noticeable progress, which was acknowledged even by neighboring wine producers at the time. Even greater changes came after 2011. Groupe Artémis appointed Frédéric Engerer, who runs Château Latour, as managing director, and over the next 10 years, investments continued in both the vineyards and the winery. 

The grapes are harvested at peak ripeness into small crates, and are carefully sorted directly in the vineyard rather than in the cellar. The grapes are then gently pressed, and vinification takes place on a plot-by-plot basis. This is followed by ageing: 18 months on fine lees in barriques with a deliberately low proportion of new oak, so that the wood does not overwhelm the characteristic fruity flavour of this château’s wine. The finished wine is then blended through careful mixing.

For Chateau Grillet the winemaking is a balance between artisanal skill and the precision of a jeweller. A team of four, led by estate director Alois Ueto, works on site all year round, and everything here is done by hand, as the slope allows for nothing else.

The wines

Château Grillet's wine lineup is limited. There is the grand vin, from the estate’s own monopole appellation,  vines averaging 40 years. Aged at least 24 months in a mix of new and old oak. The production is small.

The second white wine is the Condrieu La Carterie, first produced in 2017 from grapes grown on twelve terraces adjoining the château, covering an area of approximately 0.25 hectares of granite soil high up on the slope, within the Condrieu appellation. It is fuller-bodied and more intense than Grillet.

Then there is a Côte du Rhône, formerly known as Ponsen, which is the second wine first released from the 2011 vintage. It is named after a lady on the estate. It is made from grapes grown on young vines and from plots located outside the appellation’s boundaries, which is why it has been declassified to the generic designation Côtes du Rhône.

And finally there is a liquor, the Fine Eau-de-Vie de Marc des Cotes du Rhone.