Aged Condrieu – how it develops plus 40 wines tasted
Matt Walls dissects the theory that Condrieu doesn't age and should only be drunk young by tasting 40 wines with half from the 2019 vintage and half an older vintage of a producer's choosing.
During my last few visits to Condrieu, some of my most surprising and memorable encounters have been with older wines.
Yet I still continue to read that Condrieu is a wine that ‘doesn’t age’. Tasting the occasional 20-year-old bottle is instructive, but I wanted to put together a more complete picture of how this great wine develops.
Scroll down for Matt Walls’ top-scoring recent and aged Condrieu wines
I recently tasted 40 wines from 17 different producers.
They all submitted a bottle of their 2019 alongside at least one older wine of their choosing – these ranged from 2014 back to 1998.
Best aged Condrieu vintages
Their most popular choice was the 2008 – a cool, wet vintage in the Northern Rhône that produced some underripe, scrawny reds – but fresh, lean whites.
The second most popular vintage was very different in character; the 2010 was a great year that produced intense, structured wines of both colours.
I expected some of the older wines to be dull, flat, perhaps oxidised or otherwise lifeless. But remarkably they all still had something to say.
Contrary to popular opinion, Condrieu does indeed age, but it changes radically as it moves from its young stage (from bottling to four years after vintage), to early maturity (around 10 to 12 years), to late maturity (12 to 25 years).
Young Condrieu
Most people drink Condrieu when it’s young. It’s hard to resist at this exuberant early stage when it brims with jasmine, violets and succulent peach nectar, not to mention the kind of intense ripe apricot flavour you so rarely find in an actual apricot.
Viognier is a low-acid grape, but these vibrant aromatics help give it a sense of freshness. Over time, these florals gradually wilt – so any Viognier needs more than just aroma if it’s to avoid flatlining after its first flush of youth.
The Viogniers of Condrieu find two additional sustaining sources of freshness and structure from its granite and migmatite soils: positive bitterness and salinity. It’s these two elements that help the wines to age in the absence of marked acidity.
After this youthful stage, the wines reach a stage of early maturity.
See all 40 new Condrieu wine tasting notes and scores
Early maturity
This is at around 10 years of age, but it depends on the vintage; the 2008s appeared more youthful than the 2010s. The aromatics have settled down now, and the wines typically show more citrus peel than stone fruit, sometimes taking on petrol notes like an aged Riesling. Herbs and spices rise to the surface.
What surprised me was how young these wines still appeared after 10 years, almost unchanged in colour. When they pour with a hint of copper or gold however, you know they’ve moved into full maturity.
Full maturity
At this stage, usually between 12 and 20 years of age, a switch is flicked and the aromatic register is transformed.
Gone are the fresh apricots and peaches, replaced with dried apricots and orange marmalade. Any fruit sits behind an array of toasted nuts and caramelised flavours: gingerbread, butterscotch, honeycomb.
The aromas are just as pronounced as a young wine, but entirely different. The wines are just as full and generous on the palate, but more savoury than before.
Oak and alcohol
Condrieu takes well to oak ageing, it helps to build structure, complexity and length. But any imbalances become more obvious as the wine ages. Excessive oak, which can to some degree be disguised by flamboyant fruits when young, becomes dominating with age. As does unbalanced alcohol.
Comparing the alcohol levels of the 2019s against the older wines was revealing: the young wines were on average 0.7% higher in alcohol. The 2019 vintage was unusually hot, but let’s hope such elevated alcohol levels don’t become the norm, otherwise today’s Condrieus might not age as well as those made ten or twenty years ago. What today’s wines have in their favour when it comes to longevity is that they come from older vines, which typically deliver greater intensity and minerality.
Site selection
If you want to try an older Condrieu, consider first of all the best granitic sites close to the villages of Condrieu and Verin such as Coteau de Vernon, Coteau de Chéry and Poncin (though I did taste some fine older wines from Chavanay and Malleval).
Food matching
Whereas a young Condrieu is delicious on its own, older wines are better matched with food – try brown crab meat with lemon mayonnaise on toast or halibut with a brown butter and tarragon sauce.
Aged Condrieu verdict
On a personal level, this tasting confirmed my preference for younger wines – I just can’t help but be won over by that heady aromatic display.
But if presented with a wine list in a restaurant, I would opt for an excellent older vintage such as 2014 over a less exciting recent one such as 2018 – particularly if it’s by a more reliable domaine or makes a better match with what I’m eating.
Nevertheless, it’s important to set the record straight: Condrieu does age.
It just doesn’t follow the pattern of most white wines. It bursts out of the blocks with wild aromatics, then gradually calms down until it flips into a nutty, toasty, caramelised yet unctuous curiosity, sustained by a mineral spine. Because of its early glory, it doesn’t ‘improve’ per se; instead, it gradually evolves into something else. Something else worth trying.
See Matt Walls’ top-scoring recent and aged Condrieu wines
See all 40 Condrieu wine tasting notes and scores
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André Perret, Chéry, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2011
This is doing something new and different when tasted alongside the 2019, and it's just as fresh and delightful. The peach aromas are more cooked down, there are some herbal notes too, lemon thyme and marjoram. Medium-bodied, gently oily but not overly full, so fresh on the palate still. Juicy, fresh, delicious, long. The oak is very well judged and integrated. Perfectly balanced and harmonious. A beautiful wine. Just as good as when young. Better? A little more savoury, a little more contemplative perhaps. A special wine.
2011
André PerretCondrieu
Yves Cuilleron, Les Chaillets, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
A particularly floral expression, with lavender and violets on the nose among the apricot fruit. Full-bodied, but still fluid on the palate, this has a real intensity and freshness, a sense of tension and minerality. Long finish that's not overburdened by oak. This has a sense of straightness and direction despite the breadth on the palate and open aromatic display. Very well balanced, finishing floral. Selection of parcels grown on biotite granite, vinified then aged nine months in barriques and foudres.
2019
Yves CuilleronCondrieu
Domaine Georges Vernay, Coteau de Vernon, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
A fresh, floral and subtly flinty nose - violets and lavender. Full-bodied, savoury on entry, then opens out expansively on the palate. Neatens up after some time spent strutting its stuff. Great sense of purity and harmony. Remarkably salinity carries the wine throughout. The concentration helps to mask the alcohol, which is warming but not unbalanced. Oak is perfectly integrated and non-intrusive.
2019
Domaine Georges VernayCondrieu
Yves Cuilleron, Les Chaillets, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2008
Deep gold in colour now. Intense pickled ginger notes on the nose. Rose petals and pink peppercorns too, smells like there might have been some botrytis. Medium-bodied style with great concentration and tension. There's a sweetness on the tongue, then it finishes dry and very long. Great freshness and salinity despite its fully mature style. Selection of best parcels, grown on muscovite granite. Aged nine months in barriques.
2008
Yves CuilleronCondrieu
Domaine Georges Vernay, Coteau de Vernon, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2008
Mature now with a mid-gold colour, showing rich apricot jam notes on the nose and poached quince, gingerbread and marzipan. Marked acidity on the palate seems ingrained with roasted spices somehow. Dried apricot now on the palate. Great purity of fruit still, all with a little electric current running through it, ending gently saline. Very straight now for a Condrieu, great energy and drinkability.
2008
Domaine Georges VernayCondrieu
E Guigal, La Doriane, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2010
Rich, full-bodied, more open on the nose than the 2019 tasted alongside it. Such intensity and concentration on the palate, it's loud, proud and drives long into the finish. Still has robust aromatic oak influence, but it's integrated with the fruit, and the whole is impressive. Very full, slick and polished but has the acidity, freshness and salinity to pull it off. This will be a bit too much for some, particularly the overt oak element, but it's impossible not to feel a strong reaction - a huge wine.
2010
E GuigalCondrieu
André Perret, Chéry, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
A touch of VA helps lift the aromas. The acidity is quite marked for a 2019. Intense peach and apricot, apricot nectar. Very long finish. Great precision, well balanced and fresh, keen, with a saline finish.
2019
André PerretCondrieu
Domaine Clusel-Roch, Verchery, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
Interesting nose, there’s some dried grasses and meadow flowers as well as almonds. More apple and pear than stone fruit. An idiosyncratic style. Medium-bodied, with good acidity, great freshness and acidity. This has a savoury earthiness underpinning the fruit that makes for a particularly fresh and drinkable style. Organic.
2019
Domaine Clusel-RochCondrieu
E Guigal, La Doriane, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
Great freshness and vibrancy of fruit that cuts through the considerable oak on the nose. A rich and concentrated style, ripe and opulent. Oily on the palate, with a gently coating sweetness. Very intense with good balancing acidity, salinity and warming alcohol on the long finish with a flourish of oak spice. An intensely flamboyant, razzle-dazzle Condrieu.
2019
E GuigalCondrieu
Domaine du Monteillet, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2001
From lieu-dit Chanson, so a different cuvée to the 2019 Grandes Chaillées tasted alongside. Petrol, grilled almonds and toasty honeycomb notes on the nose. Has all the breadth and glycerol still, but the fruit is now dried apricots, along with orange marmalade. Ends long, still has a sense of freshness. Very long finish. Some autumn leaves too suggest that this is towards the end of its life - but 20 years isn't bad for a wine that 'doesn't age'!
2001
Domaine du MonteilletCondrieu
André Perret, Clos Chanson, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
Great purity on the nose, some pear along with the apricot fruit. Lightly floral. Full-bodied, but only just, with enough deep-set acidity to bring balance and freshness. Neatens up and slims down to a tapered finish. A neat, fresh, drinkable style, very measured and harmonious. Oak is well integrated and not excessive. Chavanay.
2019
André PerretCondrieu
François Villard, DePoncins, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
Vibrant mandarin, really fresh and lively aromatic display. Has some glycerol gummy softness on the palate, but the wine has a nice sense of fluidity and brisk acidity. Very well balanced, fresh, clear-cut and precise. Well-integrated oak, fruit to the fore. Really deliciously drinkable.
2019
François VillardCondrieu
François Villard, DePoncins, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2006
This has taken on some colour now and moved into a fully mature phase. Touch madeirised, there's demerara sugar, barley sugar and coconut. Still generous and rounded on the palate with good acidity, feels a little drier than a young Condrieu. The oak is quite pronounced, and there's plenty of gingerbread and roasted nuts. There's freshness on the palate still. This is complex and interesting, it's very different to a young Condrieu. Very long indeed.
2006
François VillardCondrieu
Domaine Clusel-Roch, Verchery, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2005
There's a subtle golden tinge to the wine from age, and then - that nose! Soaring aromatics, so complex and harmonious. Brimming over with ginger, iodine and silage. Very full-bodied, there's a slight menthol edge. Farmyardy. Notes of aged Jura Savagnin. Bizarre and fascinating, this won't be to everyone's taste.
2005
Domaine Clusel-RochCondrieu
Yves Cuilleron, Les Chaillets, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 1998
Mid gold colour now. Very mature, with quince, honey and slightly caramelised notes that reminded me of burnt marmalade. Full-bodied, dry and savoury on the palate with impressive acidity. Burnt orange peel on the long, toasty finish, but there's still some freshness here, such intensity and concentration of flavour.
1998
Yves CuilleronCondrieu
François Villard, Le Grand Vallon, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
Good intensity on the nose, the oak is present but not dominating, alongside classic apricot and peach. Very full-bodied with fairly low acidity, but it still has intensity and vitality thanks to extract and deft oak work. Good length and generosity of flavour, bold and vivacious. Touch of sweetness adds juiciness to the fruit. Saint Pierre de Boeuf.
2019
François VillardCondrieu
François Villard, Le Grand Vallon, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2008
This has more tarragon on the nose than orchard fruit, something that I associate with less-ripe Viognier, which fits with this cooler vintage. Fresh and well-defined aromatic profile, there's a little honeycomb and cinnamon spice from the oak. Cool on the palate, plenty of glycerol, but not overly fat. There's good acidity and freshness here. The oak is quite forthright on the palate too, verging on the dominant. Still harmonious and complex, this is still a wine that has a lot to say about its origins. Still good today, probably not better than the its younger self, but has evolved with interest. Tangy lime pickle finish. Saint Pierre de Boeuf.
2008
François VillardCondrieu
Domaine Farjon, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
On the label: 'Ageing potential: 4 to 5 years'. The delicious 2008 tasted alongside suggests this is a conservative estimate! An easy-going kind of nose, a touch of almond nougat along with the fresh apricots and orange rind. Touch of thyme with air. Very full-bodied, a little overly fat on the palate. It does have enough acidity to bring balance however, and some mouthwatering extract. Long finish. Orange rind bitterness on the finish helps to bring balance. Long. Fresh and balanced, very good for a 2019. Malleval.
2019
Domaine FarjonCondrieu
Domaine Farjon, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2008
Still a youthful colour. Aromatically mature, showing curry leaf and lime pickle along with a slightly nutty side. Full-bodied, still has freshness on the palate, along with a slightly bitter lime skin note and some honeycomb and butterscotch. Very long finish. A good time to drink this if you like a mature style. Great intensity. Malleval.
2008
Domaine FarjonCondrieu
Domaine Vincent et Alexandre Cluzel, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2014
Remarkably youthful nose still, plenty of stone fruit and citrus. Unctuous palate with some peach-stone bitterness and an expansive finish. The alcohol is beginning to show slightly on the palate now. Real intensity, and really classic expression. Long finish. Great purity. Chavanay.
2014
Domaine Vincent et Alexandre CluzelCondrieu
Domaine du Monteillet, Les Grandes Chaillées, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2019
The only bottle to refer to its second, fully mature stage on the label. Real intensity and firmness of flavour here, a touch of dried apricot along with the fresh fruit. The acidity is quite driving, the wine has real concentration. The oak rises on the finish, bringing complexity, then ends on fruit and a creamy note. The alcohol is just a little noticeable. From EIGHT parcels across Condrieu, Vérin, St Michel sur Rhône and Chavanay. Matured 2/3 demi-muids, 1/3 barriques, 25% new oak, for 11 months on the lees.
2019
Domaine du MonteilletCondrieu
Vignobles Chirat, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2010
Taken on some subtle gold hints. There are some oxidative notes, apple compote, blanched almond and vanilla fudge. It's unctuous on the palate, soft, melted and comfortable. Has the power of the vintage, the alcohol is a little generous but it works well. This is delicious now, so complex and harmonious.
2010
Vignobles ChiratCondrieu
