Pierre Jean Villa - Côte-Rôtie "Fongeant" 2022 (750ml)
Price: $184.99
| Producer | Pierre Jean Villa |
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône Valley |
| Varietal | Syrah |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Sku | 206291 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Pierre Jean Villa Description
In 2009, after a lot of thought, he handed in his keys and started his own Domaine Pierre Jean Villa from scratch, and this is worth pausing over, because that’s no mean feat. He began with parcels in St Joseph, Condrieu, and Côte-Rôtie, plus he had a parcel in Seyssuel for his Esprit d’Antan. Some of these parcels–notably, the long-ago abandoned terraces behind his new winery in Chavanay–had to be cleared and planted. He made vintage 2009 at his buddy Jean-Michel Gerin’s domaine in Ampuis while overseeing the renovation of an abandoned fruit-processing building on the western edge of Chavanay. He moved into his new winery the following year.
Fongeant is a lieu-dit at the top of the Côte Brune hillside. Villa has a parcel of just over an acre planted in 1954 and 1964, and since 2013 he has plowed this parcel with a horse. Depending on the year, the wine is made with between two-thirds and 100% whole cluster after a strict triage and is not fined or filtered. Elevage takes place primarily in older demi-muids, with a few 228-liter barrels in reserve. Production averages 2,400 bottles.
The vines pre-date clonal selections. They are not the small berry serine strain of Syrah; rather, these vines constitute an old sélection massale plantation. Each vine is distinctive, there is little rhythm or reason about them, and their grapes range from small to large.
Wine Advocate: 94+ Points
A 100% Syrah, the 2022 Fongeant from Pierre Jean Villa reveals a dense, complex bouquet of violets, dark berries, chocolate and mocha. Medium to full-bodied, it’s dense and powerful yet finely crafted with fine-grained, velvety tannins. Deep and mouthcoating in texture, it concludes with a long, spicy and somewhat somber, denser finish compared to Carmina. Crafted with whole bunches (sourced from old massal vines in the Côte Brune sector) and matured for 24 months in barrels from Atelier Centre France, Taransaud and Seguin, this superb wine deserves a decade or more in the cellar to reach its full potential.
