There’s no other way to say it: Today’s an opportunity to experience one of the world’s elite white wines. In the estimation of the SommSelect team and wine fiends the world over, Vernay’s “Les Terrasses de L’Empire” is among the very best examples of Condrieu, and thus the Viognier grape, one can have.
There are flashier estates, putting out more expensive bottlings, but none can match the admiration and reverence of Domaine Georges Vernay’s profound Condrieu creations. This 2019 “Les Terrasses de L’Empire” is a brilliant marriage of Viognier’s signature perfume and richness with a distinct “vertical” freshness that no other producer can seem to emulate. We rarely go for lush, immensely aromatic whites but Vernay wines are in an extraordinary class of their own, and we’ll never pass up the opportunity to offer one.
BONUS: We also secured two cases of Vernay’s legendary “Coteau de Vernon,” available here. If you know, you know.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a bottle of Viognier, from Condrieu or anywhere else in the world, you have Georges Vernay to thank. Were it not for him, the variety would likely be extinct today. Georges began working in the vineyards alongside his father in 1944, at a time when Condrieu and its signature variety were on the verge of disappearing. In the wake of World War II, when there were few experienced vignerons to be found, the appellation’s forbiddingly steep slopes were abandoned in favor of flatter, easier-to-work land. On top of that, the finicky Viognier grape—low-yielding, prone to mildew, in need of a long growing season to fully ripen—made it even less attractive to farmers. By 1960, Condrieu contained barely seven hectares, which accounted for basically the entire global plantings of Viognier.
Georges Vernay led this special place back from the brink. Over three decades, he served as the president of the grower’s association, encouraging his neighbors to reclaim abandoned territory and to replant Viognier. In the 1970s, he was literally the only producer in the village; now, there are dozens of talented winemakers cultivating land in what’s rightfully recognized as one of the most distinctive terroirs in the world.
Georges passed in 2017, but by then the estate had been in the extremely skillful hands of his daughter Christine. She has upped the ante in the vineyards during her reign, pushing beyond organics and into biodynamics. In the cellar, she’s infused her father’s luscious wines with a freshness and mineral depth often thought impossible to achieve with aromatic, unctuous white grapes like Viognier. Indeed, the wines have never received higher praise. John Livingstone-Learmonth, the greatest Rhône expert in the English-speaking world, now calls Vernay “the top house for elegant, utterly refined Condrieu.”
Christine’s 2019 “Les Terrasses de L’Empire” hails from 40-year-old Viognier vines, and has been raised mainly in large 2000L oak casks with a few smaller barrels mixed in. The variety’s signature floral perfume—jasmine, honeysuckle, lily of the valley—leads the way on the nose, followed by apricot flesh, juicy yellow peach, pear skin, creamy apple, lemon peel, and pulverized chalk. The first thing you notice on the palate is the acidity; it’s luscious and textural but there’s a resonating core of zip and minerality keeping all the heady high tones in check. “Refreshing” is rarely the first descriptor I reach for with Viognier, but it’s certainly at the front of my mind here. This a dead-serious, drop-dead gorgeous wine, and it’s drinking beautifully right now. It’ll only open up more with 3-5 years in your cellar, so make sure to grab a few bottles. This is a true legend that lives up to the hype!
