Condrieu Suggestion?

Hello WLDG folks

I'm planning on popping a couple of Viogniers when the warmer weather gets here, specifically an '09 Copain Mendocino County Tous Ensemble & an '08 Peay Sonoma Coast Viognier. I thought it might be fun to pick up a bottle of Condrieu and open them all together, and so I was wondering if anyone might have a suggestion for a nice bottle under $50 that they've tried and enjoyed.

Christophe Pichon for the elegant side of Condrieu. Although it's not exactly widely available and on the shelves of every Costco.

I suppose you should be able to find Guigal´s negociant Condrieu from a recent vintage for less than 50. 2009 is okay, for example.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L

I haven't had any Condrieu recently. In the past I was fond of Rene Rostaing La Bonnette Condrieu which is quite pricy when you can find it.

Thanks for the suggesstions!

I did some research on them. The Christophe Pichon and Guigal would seem to be very interesting comparisons with the Peay & Copain.

I am afraid the Rene Rostaing La Bonnette might blow them out of the water, but if I run into a bottle in my wanderings I intend to pick it up for another occasion. Parker went bonkers over the 2009 giving it a 95, I'll just have to part with the 60 or 70 dollars if I see it!

CSW has a Barou Condrieu for a very reasonable price- not had, but Salil speaks highly of their reds.
I like Texier's Condrieu,but haven't seen a while. He has a semi-sweet Viognier (Opale) that's an interesting oddity.

CSW has a Barou Condrieu for a very reasonable price- not had, but Salil speaks highly of their reds.
I like Texier's Condrieu,but haven't seen a while. He has a semi-sweet Viognier (Opale) that's an interesting oddity.

Hi Dale,

Thanks for those suggestions. Have to add them to my list, except the sweet one, got too many stickies hang'n around that I have to start getting into. First up in that category will be one of three 2001 Clos Haut Peyragueys in my cellar.

The description of the Barou Condrieu sounds very interesting on the CSW website. And...it's organic! How hip is that?

This little mission I created for myself is rather fun, gives me a reason to go poking around in stores, which I enjoy and haven't been doing much of lately. I need to be mostly drinking it, not buying it! Now, however, I have an excuse to go browsing for a while with the end goal of picking up one, well maybe two? bottles.

Faury's Condrieu is quite nice as well. Vernay's is reputedly excellent.

[Jenise]

Texier!

Faury's Condrieu is quite nice as well. Vernay's is reputedly excellent.

The 2010 Faury sounds rather scrumptious as reviewed by RP, with impressive purity, apricots, peaches, crushed rocks and such. I can't really wrap my head around the crushed rock thing, so on that basis alone this would certainly be interesting to try!

2007 Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de L'Empire is pleasant. I got it for around $40.

http://www.weygandtwines.com/cgi-bin/co ... n&key=2428

I know you asked for Condrieu specifically, but my favorite Viognier by a country mile is the Fausse Piste iterations. The 2009 Découvertes Viognier is long gone but the current release 2010 Viognier Ma Conviction is still around. At around $20 it's a stone cold steal.

http://www.faussepiste.com/wines.html

I haven't had the '09 (which I believe is current), but the '05 Delas Condrieu La Galopin was lovely wine; my wife called it "an orange creamsicle for grownups."

2007 Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de L'Empire is pleasant. I got it for around $40.

http://www.weygandtwines.com/cgi-bin/co ... n&key=2428

I know you asked for Condrieu specifically, but my favorite Viognier by a country mile is the Fausse Piste iterations. The 2009 Découvertes Viognier is long gone but the current release 2010 Viognier Ma Conviction is still around. At around $20 it's a stone cold steal.

http://www.faussepiste.com/wines.html

I have to admit Kelly, looking at the name I'd have never guessed the Les Terrasses de L'Empire would be from Washington. Interesting... I might have to expand the breadth of my planned tasting!

2007 Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de L'Empire is pleasant. I got it for around $40.

http://www.weygandtwines.com/cgi-bin/co ... n&key=2428

I know you asked for Condrieu specifically, but my favorite Viognier by a country mile is the Fausse Piste iterations. The 2009 Découvertes Viognier is long gone but the current release 2010 Viognier Ma Conviction is still around. At around $20 it's a stone cold steal.

http://www.faussepiste.com/wines.html

I have to admit Kelly, looking at the name I'd have never guessed the Les Terrasses de L'Empire would be from Washington. Interesting... I might have to expand the breadth of my planned tasting!

The Les Terrasses de L'Empire is from Condrieu, the Ma Conviction is from Washington/Oregon.

I am afraid the Rene Rostaing La Bonnette might blow them out of the water, but if I run into a bottle in my wanderings I intend to pick it up for another occasion. Parker went bonkers over the 2009 giving it a 95

so it'll probably be bloated, syrupy and overblown... remember really disliking the '06 for the same reasons, which was disgustingly cloying and unbalanced. I still don't get the praise for Rostaing, his Syrahs are solid but nothing particularly exciting, and I'm yet to like a Condrieu of his.

Andre Perret (though I don't know if any of his bottlings fall under the $50 mark, but they're still worth trying if you find them) and Vernay make excellent Condrieu; I'll second Kelly's rec. for Terrasses de L'Empire. I haven't tasted Eric Texier's yet, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't excellent given the outstanding quality across all his other bottlings.

2007 Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de L'Empire is pleasant. I got it for around $40.

The Les Terrasses de L'Empire is from Condrieu, the Ma Conviction is from Washington/Oregon.

Oops, thanks for clarifying that, misread that good running everything together!

I am afraid the Rene Rostaing La Bonnette might blow them out of the water, but if I run into a bottle in my wanderings I intend to pick it up for another occasion. Parker went bonkers over the 2009 giving it a 95

so it'll probably be bloated, syrupy and overblown... remember really disliking the '06 for the same reasons, which was disgustingly cloying and unbalanced. I still don't get the praise for Rostaing, his Syrahs are solid but nothing particularly exciting, and I'm yet to like a Condrieu of his.

Andre Perret (though I don't know if any of his bottlings fall under the $50 mark, but they're still worth trying if you find them) and Vernay make excellent Condrieu; I'll second Kelly's rec. for Terrasses de L'Empire. I haven't tasted Eric Texier's yet, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't excellent given the outstanding quality across all his other bottlings.

Yeah Salil, I'm not an avid follower of Parker, sometimes I find that his tastes lean in the direction you indicate, at the same time I've bought wines he recommended that I really liked. Now I am kind of curious which way this one would go. Perret & Vernay are now on my radar.

Not to turn this into another Parker-oriented thread, but I've found little correlation in tastes - there are some wines where I find my tastes align with his, and others where his views aren't particularly helpful. But for most whites and a lot of Northern Rhones in general now, there's little overlap in preferences.

I use John Livingstone-Learmonth's "Wines of the Northern Rhone" as my failsafe guide for the region. He doesn't have a lot of reviews/praise for the Rostaing La Bonnette, but does write very positively about both Vernay and Perret (particularly the latter's Chéry and Clos Chanson). Gangloff (only tasted his reds, but am a fan) and Gilles-Barge also get a lot of praise.

I use John Livingstone-Learmonth's "Wines of the Northern Rhone" as my failsafe guide for the region. He doesn't have a lot of reviews/praise for the Rostaing La Bonnette, but does write very positively about both Vernay and Perret (particularly the latter's Chéry and Clos Chanson). Gangloff (only tasted his reds, but am a fan) and Gilles-Barge also get a lot of praise.

That sounds like a great book to have, as soon as the next edition comes out I'm going to pick it up. Thanks for the other suggestions, gotta add them to my list of possibles.