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The Viognier comes from the same late-ripening source as the Roussanne but is picked earlier—around the same time as Souillard’s reds. It is an intriguing, granite-based vineyard at Sanilhac, near the entrance to the beautiful Ardèche gorge. The east-facing vineyard—planted in the early 1970s and 2000s—sits on a steep hillside at 450-480 metres where the poor, stony grès (sandstone) soils are laced with granite. Souillard works with just 0.4 hectares from this “magic” site.
This cooler site plays into this grower’s desire for restrained, refreshing, linear whites. Old vines, precise picking dates and artisanal vinification make this the antithesis of blowsy Viognier. It was raised and aged in neutral, old oak for 12 to 15 months to retain fruit purity.