For many years Condrieu was considered one of the premier white wines of France. It is the birthplace of the beguiling Viognier grape and the home of its greatest expression. Lately, the appellation has suffered from global warming, coupled with a shift toward more new wood and a general preference for riper, more obvious wines. The result has been an increasingly one-dimensional wine in Condrieu—decadent and unctuous but lacking in delineation, balance, and refreshment. The humble and authentic Condrieu produced by Lionel Faury in Chavanay turns this unfortunate trend completely on its head. Vintage after vintage, he produces highly perfumed, well-balanced, utterly delicious Condrieu with its elegance intact—rounded, freshening, deep, fine, and exotic.
