J. Vidal-Fleury Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2022

Founded in 1781, Vidal-Fleury is the Rhône Valley’s oldest continuing winery. Thomas Jefferson’s visit in 1787 was its first contact with the United States; he called the wines “justly celebrated”. During the 1890s, Gustave Vidal married a daughter of the Fleury family. Together they replanted the vineyard following the phylloxera outbreak. Then, in the 1920s, the House expanded into other wine-growing regions throughout the Rhône Valley. In 1984, the famed Guigal estate acquired the company. This step was a logical continuation for the Vidal-Fleury and Guigal families, who had always worked together. Indeed, Etienne Guigal (Marcel’s father) was hired as a vine-grower and cellar master by Joseph Vidal-Fleury in 1924. When the Vidal-Fleury family decided to sell the House, they naturally turned to the Guigal family. As result, the company remains family-run. Vidal-Fleury is managed in absolute independence with its own winemaking, logistics and commercial team.

In 2006 Vidal-Fleury began investing to modernize its winery facilities, installing state-of-the-art technology; in 2008, it built a new cellar specifically dedicated to maturing the wines. In addition, Vidal-Fleury’s vineyards are overseen with 100% self-sustaining management practices. Long considered one of the most respected producers in the Rhône Valley, Vidal-Fleury carries on under the watchful management of Head Winemaker Guy Sarton du Jonchay.

For this delicious Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc, Viognier and Grenache Blanc grapes are grown in shallow soils made up primarily of clay, granite and sand. Vineyards are primarily on hillsides with an average of 150-250 meters in elevation. Grapes are hand and machine harvested and transported to the winery in small crates. Fermentation occurs with indigenous yeasts in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation does not occur. The wine is aged in tank, on its lees for six months. The finished wine is lightly filtered and fined followed by a minimum of 3 months in bottle prior to release.