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Carmina Burana, the cantate composed by Carl Orff, associates the power of a choir, the purety of voice, the complexity of music and the sensuality of chants. The colour carmine symbolizes passion and force.
History: Pliny the Elder and Plutarch celebrated the wines of this region calling them ‘The wines of Vienne’. The first references to Côte-Rôtie go back to the VIth century. The reputation of this wine grew during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, being served on many princely tables throughout Europe. The fame of the wine region reached its peak in 1890. Phylloxera and the First World War almost caused it to disappear. It reemerged in the 1960s under the enthusiasm of enterprising wine- makers convinced of the appellation’s potential.
Geography: the appellation covers 283 hectares, stretching from the south of Lyon on the right bank of the Rhône and over three communes: Saint-Cyr sur Rhône, Ampuis, Tupin-Semons.
Soils: granite terraces covered with clay, gneiss and iron oxide.
Climate: moderate continental, dry and hot summers, regular rain during the other seasons.
Whether in Spain or France, the Villa family has always worked the land. Pierre-Jean never inherited a vineyard but he has harvested, visited cellars, tasted wines, and roamed the wine routes with friends. 1992: it's the heyday for Burgundy and its prestigious vineyards, Mommessin, Clos de Tart... Pierre-Jean Villa follows the wine from its production to its commercialization. 2003: Pierre-Jean Villa returns to his homestead and joins the trio of the Wines of Vienne. He is the keeper of the temple until 2009. 2009: Pierre-Jean Villa creates his domain in the heart of the northern Rhone and begins his new life as a one hundred per cent independent wine-grower. 2020: last year before organic certification, the domain has become one of the essential addresses in the northern Rhône with 17 hectares of vines for major wines spread across the right and left bank of the Rhône: Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage and on the slopes of Seyssuel to the north of Vienne.
A great wine is ultimately born from the respect of the land and its fruit. This is both an evidence and a work-ethic for Pierre-Jean Villa. He doesn't let anything pass him by. In the vineyard, the only logic is to preserve the life of the soil whilst producing wines true to their terroir. In the cellar, he treats the grapes with non-interventionist wine making : indigenous yeast and respect for the lunar calender when racking and bottling. In the end, the wine must express this just and delicate balance between the typicity of the terroir and the wine maker's ethics.
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