Northern Rhone

Every since the domaine was founded by Julien Damoy in the early 20th century, it has produced top-quality wines that are highly expressive of each vineyardís unique terroir. The domaine is now made up of 11 hectares, with nearly 8 hectares of Grand Cru vineyards, one of the largest holdings of any domaine. Under Pierre's ownership the domaine has re-invented itself with rigorous vineyard management to reduce the yields and improve the quality of the grapes. It is now amongst the top tier of Burgundy producers, making wines that are rich, powerful, complex and long lived.

The grapes from this superb domaine used to be sold to Guigal for blending, but in 1993 the domaine started making and bottling wines under their own label. Florent Viale has built the domaine up to be one of the best in the region. The Crozes-Hermitage vineyards lie next to the Hermitage appellation and have the best sites for producing the richer style of the domaine. The Cuvee Gaby is certainly one of the best wines of Crozes-Hermitage. The Hermitage is superb ñ rich and full-bodied but still very elegant with fine tannins.

One of wine’s fascinating characters, a charismatic and passionate man, full of energy. A man inspiring in his firm a state of mind and high levels of ambition. Curious and visionary, he has made choices of breakaway and conviction. A wine enthusiastic before becoming a wine-grower, Michel has undertaken many journeys. It is during these journeys and the many meetings resulting from them that he evaluated the diversity, richness and subtlety of wine, to understand the importance of the terroir and its expression in wine.

Certainly one of the most cheerful winemakers you get to meet in the Rhône, François always seems upbeat and energetic. He has only been making wines since 1989, but has already established himself as one of Condrieu’s greatest winemakers. No expense is spared in the production of his stunning wines, from painstaking selection in the vineyard to the new oak barrels that he buys every year.