2014 Condrieu La Chambée

Yves Cuilleron, who founded this project with fellow winemakers Pierre Gaillard and François Villard, walked me through their most recent releases in December. He commented that "the 2014s are in serious demand, already, by restaurants, because of their appealing fruit." While quality here has been steady for the last few vintages, I found this year's set of releases to be at an even higher level than usual, and I doubt it's simply a function of a couple of excellent vintages. The estate wines, designated "Archevêques," are now often in the upper tier of northern Rhône wines that I taste annually. Thankfully, prices have yet to catch up to the quality they deliver.