Collection: Francois Villard

François Villard has firmly established himself as one of Condrieu`s greatest winemakers. His wines are bright, poised and vivacious with a spine-tingling minerality, combined with amazing depth and intensity. He firmly believes in the importance of the soil, more so than exposure, although he is very lucky to have both working in his favour. As a result of optimal ripening, his wines are rich and concentrated with complex aromas of peaches, apricots, honeysuckle, and honey for the whites and leather and spice for the reds.

The whites are often allowed to develop botrytis and most of the wines pass through wood ageing for an extended amount of time to prepare them for a very long time in the winery, no expense is spared in production either, from the painstaking selection in the vineyard to the use of new oak barrels. His wines are the epitome of the Northern Rhône - rich, full-bodied, complex and elegant.

He has over 40 hectares of Viognier vines in the Northern Rhône, with 7.5 hectares in Condrieu, from which he makes four impressive cuvées. He has been practising organic viticulture for many years but has only recently applied for certification.

Although his parents were farmers, he trained first as a cook and sommelier before finding his true passion and after buying some land in Condrieu in 1988, he is now considered one of the top names in the appellation.