The most noticeable aspect of the Northern Rhône valley, at least on the western side, is the terraced vineyards perched along the hillsides just above a string of villages. The villages themselves are little more than homes, stores and offices along a single road, the D1086. In all honesty, the area is not very well oriented to tourism, other than wine tasting, unlike some locales in the Southern Rhône such as Orange, Châteauneuf or Gigondas. Ah, but there is quite some wine to taste in the north and Yves Cuilleron makes some of them.
According to his web site (http://www.cuilleron.com/en/), M. Cuilleron’s family has run the winery for three generations; he has been in charge since 1987. Their properties are located along the entirety of the Rhône Valley, from the Côte Rôtie to Costières de Nimes. The winery itself is in Chavanay, just south of the better known village of Condrieu. It’s a pleasant enough little building, located on the main road. Other than a sign over the door… and his truck parked in front of his winery, there is no particular reason to expect fine wines within, except of course that wines are found in many little buildings in the area.
Caves Yves Cuilleron in Chavanay, France. Photo courtesy of Wine.com.
There are dozens of wines with the Cuilleron label: red, white and vin doux naturel (naturally sweet wines). The tasting room is generous in opening quite a few, so that you can have a reasonably broad introduction to Northern Rhône wines, for although they make wines from both north and south, they are primarily known for their northern wines. Other than in the white wine, Syrah is the principal grape of the Northern Rhône region. On our visit, we sipped a Condrieu (white). two St. Josephs (including Les Pierres Sèches(dy rocks) one of their better-known wines, a Crozes-Hermitage, a Côte Rôtie and a Cornas.
A bonus of a visit to Yves Cuilleron is the art on display, portraits by a local painter, Robert Bourasseau. M. Cuilleron is so taken by this artist’s work that he has dedicated a series of his wines under the label Cuvée Bourasseau. The tasting room has numerous paintings on display, all of them showing a person with a wine glass in his or her hand. (The paintings were not for sale but a poster of them is. Lucie loved the paintings so much that she bought the poster.)
The tasting room at Cave Yves Cuilleron with paintings by Robert Bourasseau.
There isn’t much else to be found around the winery nor in the nearby villages. The nearest places we know to find something to eat are in the town of Ampuis, in the heart of Côte Rôtie, about ten minutes’ drive north of the winery. There are many wineries that you can drop in on, but be aware that almost every one closes for lunch from roughly 1:00 to 3:00. You should eat too. After all, you’re in a sector of Wine Country in France, so do as the French do. Just remember that they may have a glass or two of wine with their lunch, and you’re going wine tasting afterwards, so take it easy.