Domaine François Villard

Francois Villard was originally trained to be a cook. However, his passion for winemaking sowed the seeds in him to set up his own wine estate in the year 1989. He built this estate from scratch, purely because of his passion. He went on to pursue certification courses in winemaking before he set up his estate, so that he was equipped to handle the challenges that came along in this process.

When he went about looking for an area to plant vines, the wasteland found in St. Michael town, in the appellation of Condrieu, caught his eye. The terroir, soil and climate condition of this appellation impressed Francois Villard the most. Within a couple of years, he produced the first wines from this region.

Until he built his own cellar, he used the cellar in Verlieu for vinifying his grapes. It was in 1996 that he constructed his own cellar in St. Michael Sur Rhone. Later, he joined with his friends and worked hard to bring back the Seyssuel Vineyard to its original form.

Today, the vineyard stretches across 40 hectares, and the team takes excellent care of the land. From August 2019, organic winemaking processes have been followed here. Every single plot has diverse & unique soils; therefore, they are harvested individually. They are also processed based on the plots, so that the fruits represent the natural flavour, character and elegance of the land.

The grape varietals that are used for making white wines are Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne. For the reds, Francois Villard uses Syrah only. Indigenous yeasts are used for fermentation. The whites are exposed to gentle and direct pressing to retain their flavours. The reds are fermented in stainless steel and wooden vats for about 10 days before they are aged for 18 months in 30% new barrels.

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