Domaine GEORGES VERNAY Condrieu 'Les Chaillees de l'Enfer' 2017

Les Chaillées de l’Enfer is a wine « with incredible charm ». It blends fruit (apricot, pear, white peaches) with citrus fruits, waxy notes and other more floral (white flowers, rose, violets), more vegetal (mint, thyme, etc.) and spicy (ginger, saffron) notes. A tight Condrieu with saline and iodine tones, elegant, with a lovely freshness, this is a white of great purity with a perfect balance that could be called closed and tense.

96 points Jeb Dunnuck

The 2017 Condrieu Chaillees De L'Enfer comes from a hillside just next to Coteau de Vernon and was first made in 1992. It's brought up exactly like the Coteau de Vernon, so the difference (and there are always differences between the two wines) are all due to terroir. Stunning notes of ripe citrus, orange pith, spice, and floral notes all emerge from the glass, and this medium to full-bodied Condrieu has good acidity, a vibrant, elegant texture, and a great finish. It's not a blockbuster, but this estate made sure to hold onto a sense of freshness and purity in both their 2017s and 2018s.

95 points Wine Spectator

Richly layered, with vivid fennel, white peach, apricot and Jonagold apple flavors stitched seamlessly together, ending with sparkles of jasmine and acacia on the finish. Drink now through 2022. 550 cases made, 60 cases imported.

93 points James Suckling

This has a rich and ripe apricot nose with lightly toasted almonds and a ripe, fresh-peach feel. The palate has a very supple, rich and smooth build of ripe orchard fruit. Super attractive and fleshy. Drink now.

93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2017 Condrieu les Chaillees de l'Enfer offers up unusually subdued aromas of apricot and citrus. It's a reined-in vintage, showing ample tension on the medium to full-bodied palate and finishing velvety, with hints of crushed stone and pencil oak. Like the other 2017s from Vernay, it's about balance and focus more than flamboyance or power.

Domaine Georges Vernay is one of the oldest and most famous estates in Condrieu. Georges highly contributed to the reintroduction of Viognier on the hillsides of the region when in 1960’s the appellation used to cover only 8 hectares. Today the domaine is managed by Georges’ daughter Christine and her husband Paul. The vineyard covers 8 hectares in Condrieu, 2.5 hectares in Côte-Rôtie and 1.5 hectares in Saint-Joseph and the rest being located in IGP Collines Rhôdaniennes and Côtes-du-Rhône. Their Condrieu are made from vineyards in the heart of the appellation and all express the purest; most restrained expression of the Viognier grape.
For over 20 years, Christine Vernay has used organic farming methods. Considering herself as the custodian of a land for which she is responsible for caring, she has long been committed to organic farming, long before it was fashionable or urgent to do so. She has now successfully demonstrated that, while it is difficult to work the steeply sloping vineyards using organic farming, it is not impossible.