Cuilleron St Joseph Blanc Lyseras – Organic

The Cuilleron family Domaine, located in the hamlet of Verlieu (part of the town of Chavanay) was founded several generations ago (1920). Yves Cuilleron’s grandfather was the first to bottle wine for commercial purposes in 1947. Antoine Cuilleron, the uncle and immediate predecessor of Yves, assumed control of the Domaine in 1960 and significantly increased the percentage of wine bottled at the estate and extended the scope of the Domaine. Yves assumed full ownership and direction of the Domaine in 1987 and, since that time, has built an entirely new facility while at the same time acquiring additional vineyard property. The Domaine is now (as of 2012) significantly larger in scope with 52 hectares of vineyards that cover multiple appellations, including principally, Condrieu, Saint Joseph Rouge and Blanc, Cote Rotie, Saint Péray, and a series of Vin de Pays from the Collines Rhodaniennes.  

Yves Cuilleron has established himself as one of the leading lights of France’s Northern Rhône region. He’s a modernist, but not overly so: his wines straddle neatly the divide between traditionalists and the new-wave, in the sense that they retain their sense of place, but express their site in a slightly more approachable, immediate way. There’s a purity to the fruit, and where new oak is used it isn’t excessive.   

Cuilleron Saint Joseph Lyseras is a blend of plots facing South /South-East on the slopes of the communes of Chavanay and Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf (North of the appellation). The soil is sandy and granite with natural grass over to fight against erosion. No insecticides are used and treatments are limited (depending on weather and necessity). Little fertilizer is used and only organic. Precise control of vigor and yields is maintained through leaf thinning and green harvesting for better grape ripening.  Disbudding is in spring. The grapes are hand-picked. 

Indigenous yeast primary fermentation, followed by full malo conversion.  Aging takes eight months with 50% in wooden casks of 30 hectoliters and 50% in Burgundy barrels without racking. The plots are then blended before bottling.   A blend of Marsanne and Roussanne.  

Crisp orchard fruit, citrus, and some butter citrus/lime qualities all flow from this medium-bodied, racy and pure white. Showing excellent purity and high drinkability, it will be versatile on the dinner table and drink nicely for three to four years.