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Château Grillet is one of France's smallest appellations d'origine contrôlée and one of the country's rare monopole estates, located in the heart of the northern Rhône Valley. Across just 3.5 hectares of granite terraces overlooking the river, this historic domaine produces exclusively a white wine from Viognier, renowned since ancient times. Owned by the Pinault family since 2011 and part of the Artémis Domaines group, Château Grillet embodies the absolute excellence of a unique terroir, classified as AOC in 1936 and listed as a French national heritage site in 1976.
The viticultural history of Château Grillet dates back to Roman antiquity: legend attributes to Emperor Probus the planting of the first vines in the 3rd century AD, with plants brought from Dalmatia. The estate's very name evokes the hillsides 'grilled' by the sun, testimony to an exceptional terroir recognised for centuries. By the 18th century, the wine's reputation was firmly established: Thomas Jefferson visited the property in 1787, and an 1814 inventory at the Château de Malmaison, residence of Empress Joséphine, lists 296 bottles of Château Grillet among the finest wines. In 1829, James Christie purchased bottles on behalf of King George IV of England, proof that the estate's prices then rivalled those of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. In the 20th century, chef Fernand Point, the first three-star Michelin recipient, became one of the estate's most fervent ambassadors, honouring its wines at La Pyramide. In 1936, Château Grillet received its own appellation d'origine contrôlée, among the first in France. Food critic Curnonsky then included the estate in his 'Cinq de Curnonsky', alongside Montrachet, Coulée de Serrant, Château d'Yquem and Château Chalon. Owned by the Neyret-Gachet family from 1830, the estate remained in their lineage until 2011, when François Pinault acquired it for the Artémis Domaines group. A new era began, marked by significant investment and renewed commitment to fully reveal the character of this mythical terroir.
Nestled between Vérin and Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône on the right bank of the Rhône, Château Grillet unfolds its 3.5 hectares across a spectacular natural amphitheatre composed of 102 dry-stone terraces — the 'chaillées' — rising between 150 and 250 metres above sea level. Facing due south, this steep bowl benefits from an exceptional microclimate, warm and sunny, sheltered from northern winds. The soils rest on a stable granite bedrock, consisting of Palaeozoic biotite granite, eroded into sandy arenas rich in quartz, feldspar and mica, with occasional deposits of Quaternary loess. This free-draining, poor structure is ideal for the deep rooting of Viognier, the only grape variety permitted in the appellation. Since acquisition by Artémis Domaines in 2011, the estate has undertaken conversion to organic farming, certified in 2017, then extended to biodynamics. The vines, averaging 45 years of age, are trained on chestnut stakes with Guyot Poussard pruning to respect sap flow. All work is entirely manual — by horse, winch and hoe — due to the verticality of the slopes. Each parcel is vinified separately in small stainless steel tanks, allowing the diversity of the terroir to be expressed. Ageing lasts 18 months in French oak barrels, with approximately 20% new wood, on fine lees to preserve tension and precision.
The range at Château Grillet centres on an eponymous flagship wine, Château Grillet AOC, and two complementary cuvées created since 2011 to strengthen the selection of the grand vin. Château Grillet embodies the purest and most demanding expression of Viognier: a rare wine, with chiselled minerality, marked by vibrant tension and remarkable balance between richness, delicate bitterness and salinity. The nose reveals subtle floral notes — rose, violet, lime blossom — accompanied by white and exotic fruits — pear, pineapple, apricot — and sometimes honey, hazelnut, saffron or white truffle. On the palate, the wine unfolds with amplitude, precision and depth, never seeking the aromatic exuberance of classic Viognier. This is a great wine for ageing, reaching its full potential after about ten years in the cellar. Since 2011, Pontcin, a Côtes-du-Rhône from young vines and a selection of parcels, offers a more accessible expression of the terroir, fresh and fruity, whilst retaining complexity and ageing potential. Since 2017, the estate has also produced a Condrieu La Carthery, from 0.25 hectares of adjacent terraces planted on granite, vinified with the same rigour as the grand vin. Together, these three cuvées form a coherent and elegant triptych.
Since the 2024 harvest, Aloïs Houeto has taken the reins at Château Grillet as technical manager, at the age of 29. Trained in agricultural engineering then holding a diploma in winemaking, he joined Artémis Domaines in 2021, initially on a research and development project at Château Latour, before assuming a cross-functional role for the entire group in 2023. It was Frédéric Engerer, managing director of Artémis Domaines, who entrusted him with responsibility for this mythical estate. Houeto describes his first years, 2024 and 2025, as a learning and observation phase: 'Viticulture is all about observing, and you need to be in the vineyard every day.' His first objective: to increase organic matter in the soils, because 'if you don't have life in your soil, you can't make great wines'. He is implementing incremental but significant changes: planting trees among the vines to provide shade, strengthening cover crops tailored to each parcel's nitrogen or carbon needs, consolidating biodynamic practices. Young, rigorous and passionate, Aloïs Houeto embodies a new generation of winegrowers in service of a millennia-old terroir.