This episode presents our first ever producer on from the northern Rhône – Aurelien Chirat from Vignobles Chirat.

Photo: Aurelien Chirat. Credit: WFNP

Located in the steep terraced slopes overlooking the Rhone, in the village of Saint Michel sur Rhône, Vignobles Chirat began in 1925 when Benoit Chirat harvested his first Syrah at the Domaine. In 1948, his son George joined and worked with Benoit until 1970. Viognier was planted on their site in Condrieu in 1980 and the real changes to the domaine happened when, in 1984, Gilbert Chirat took over the domain. Within 6 years of his taking the reins, he stopped all the polyculture on the estate and focused only on Syrah and Viognier.

 

The family moved from focusing on Condrieu, to the wines of Saint Joseph, and then added Côte Rôtie. Aurelien Chirat joined his father in 2012, after completing his studies and working in New Zealand, Burgundy and the south of France. We welcome Aurelien, who I had the pleasure of meeting and spending a lot of time with last year, at the Domaine, learning, and discovering all sorts of things about the northern Rhone I didn’t know.

 

As always, we discuss, land, winemaking, history, and tradition. For full show notes, join our membership community, Patreon.

 

Here are the wines we discuss:

• From Condrieu: Clos Poncin, Les Chays , Sous L'Eglise, Viognier “Or Piste”
• From St. Joseph: Soliste, La Côte, Syrah “Or Piste “
• Côte Rôtie

 

Photo:  Chirat Condrieu. Credit: WFNP

In the US, many of the wines are available in Total Wine because Chirat works with the negociant business of Laurent Delaunay, who has been on the podcast.

 

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