Heavenly Condrieu

There is nothing like a well made Condrieu to turn your head and stop you in your tracks and these two from Wunderkind Stephane Ogier are absolute show stoppers

You know how much I love Condrieu. I even have it on my business card as the type of wine I'd be if I was one. Here are two Condrieus which I think are the best they've ever been from Stephane Ogier who has become one of the stars of this appellation.

I visited Stephane Ogier at his winery in March. It was the first time in a few years and it was really impressive to see how much his already excellent wines have improved through greater care and understanding of the vineyards and more control in the cellar, with more small fermenting vessel and oak barrels, so that he can really understand each plot.  We drank his Condrieu at lunch at a restaurant in Ampuis. Wow! It was good. It's full of flavour and joy. It's got amazing concentration, but such finesse and balance. It's easy for Condrieu to be a bit over the top. But this comes in at a cool 12.5%. It's the best La Combe de Malleval he's made, and I absolutely love it. The yields are ridiculously small, and frankly the value is amazing.  With aromas of ripe peach and mango, and apricot mingling with tangy orange and lemon citrus acidity with a long, mineral finish, this is very smart indeed. It's £38. We could only get 10 cases this year. Yields were lower than ever.

Les Vieilles Vignes de Jacques Vernay, made in minuscule quantities, is from a vineyard that the legendary Jacques Vernay owned. The style from here is slightly different, with on top the apricot lushness and fragrant jasmine, an almost Burgundian, old Champagne kind of character. It's amazing and other worldly. It's rich, unctuous and silky yet super fresh too due to the lovely acid line cutting through the mouth filling texture. This really is pure heaven in a glass. It's £65 a bottle. Extremely rare! We counted ourselves lucky to get 4 cases.

If we run out, or you simply if you love Viognier like me!
It's not Condrieu, but it is brilliant - La Durbane Viognier Hedoniste £17.95 from Chateauneuf du Pape - I served it last night at a restaurant doing a wine pairing tasting dinner with lobster and saffron butter and it was wonderful. Has fabulous concentration and flavour. This is going to disappear fast, once restaurants realise how good it is.

Food pairing
Honey and mustard glazed roast chicken
Lobster smothered in a garlic and herb butter is next level