Château-Grillet AOC

The whole appellation, which is only 3.8 hectares (9.4 acres) in size,[1] is owned by a single winery, Château-Grillet.

[2] Château-Grillet AOC is effectively an enclave of the Condrieu appellation, which also produces Viognier-only white wines.

These appellations are located just south of Vienne in the northern part of the Rhône valley.

[3][4] As of 2019, winemaker Chu Jaeok, formerly of Domaine d’Eugenie, became the first woman to make the estate's single wine: Vin Blanc de Château-Grillet.

The vines are situated in terraces on steep granite cliffs surrounding the estate where the soil is lighter and more fragmented than in the Condrieu AOC.

The estate's vines average 40 years of age, and as a result produce very low yields.

At the start of the 1970s expansion, Château-Grillet was actually of the same size as Romanée-Conti, but its neighbour La Romanée is only of half as large, or 0.85 hectares (2.1 acres).

A bottle of Vine Blanc de Château Grillet from the 1959 vintage
Viognier wine from Château Grillet, 1959 Vintage.
Chu Jaeok on the steep slopes of Château Grillet holding a large piece of granite.
Château Grillet winemaker Chu Jaeok holding a piece of granite picked up in the vineyard.
The Château-Grillet AOC (marked in red) within the Condrieu AOC (marked in green) among other wine regions of the northern Rhone.
Viognier is the only grape variety permitted for Château-Grillet AOC wines.