Francois Villard Cote Rotie Rhone Wine, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Francois Villard Cote Rotie with wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, best vintages, a history of the property and information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important wineries and wine makers from the Rhone valley: Links to all Rhone Valley Wine Producer Profiles

Francois Villard History, Overview

Francois Villard did not start out to be a wine maker. At first, François Villard worked in the wine and food industry in a restaurant. After considering a career as a sommelier, luckily for us, he turned to wine making. Francois Villard began planting vines in 1989, with the help of Yves Cuilleron.

By 1991, Francois Villard made the jump to becoming a full time wine maker, producing wine from a combination of his own vineyards and purchased grapes.

Once he got started, he never looked back. From that point on, Francois Villard has continued expanding his vineyards and the wines he produces. Villard is currently producing close to 30 different wines from a myriad of different Northern Rhone Valley appellations.

Francois Villard Cote Rotie Vineyards, Wines, Winemaking

Francois Villard produces 2 Cote Rotie wines. His first wines were sold under the name of Francois Villard Cote Rotie. That wine is no longer produced.

Francois Villard La Brocarde comes from vines planted on the Cote Blonde with up to 13% Viognier in the blend. The wine takes its name from the La Brocarde lieu-dit. The berries are whole cluster fermented and up to 30% of the grapes are destemmed.

The wine is aged in between 80% new, French oak barrels to 100% new, oak, depending the character of the vintage. The wine spends close to 18 months in barrel before bottling. The production is quite small as only 100 cases are produced in an average year.

Francois Villard Le Gallet Blanc found the inspiration for the wine and its name from 2 growers that Francois Villard purchases grapes from, Mr. Gallet and Mr. Blanc. The wine is produced from mostly Syrah and just a dollop of Viognier, up to perhaps 1% or 2% of the blend.

The grapes are planted in the lieux-dits of; Cote Bodin, Le Grand Taillis, Fontjean, le Plomb, Montlys and Servonniere on a steep granite and schist hillside terroir.

The berries are whole cluster fermented and up to 30% of the grapes are destemmed. The wine is then aged in an average of 50% new, French oak barrels for up to 18 months before bottling. The production is sizable for Cote Rotie at close to 1,625 cases per vintage.

When to Drink Francois Villard, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Francois Villard, when young, should be decanted at least 1-2 hours, give or take, allowing the wines to soften and open their perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Francois Villard is often better with 5-8 years of cellaring and should be at its best between 8-15 years of age.

Serving Francois Villard with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Francois Villard is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Domaine Jasmin is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised and grilled dishes, tomatoes, eggplant and sausage. Francois Villard is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms and pasta.

Condrieu, the white wine of Francois Villard is best served with a myriad of different seafood dishes, shellfish, crab, lobster, sushi, sashimi, chicken, pork and veal, as well as Asian cuisine.

Francois Villard also produces a myriad of wines in the Northern Rhone from Condrieu, red and white wine from St. Joseph, Crozes Hermitage and Cornas. He also produces a vast array of well priced, tasty, Vin de France wines. Today, Francois Villard makes almost 30 different wines.

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