Julien Pilon - Crozes Hermitages Le Buveur d'Argile 2021

Winery Description

Native of the Rhône Valley, Julien Pilon spent more than 10 years working in Spain and Roussillon, learning winemaking in famous wineries such as Mas Amiel (Roussillon), Terra Remonta (Spain) and Jean Pierre Villa (Rhone). Julien Pilon described himself as a landless winemaker when he started on his own in 2010.

In the vinyard
He began as a negociant and selecting very carefully the grapes to vinify. He started with 1.5 hectars and now the domain is a modest 5 hectares of vines, some owned, some rented, while the majority of the production is still sourced from purchased grapes.
The harvest is manual and he start his conversion to organic agriculture.

Vinification
80 percent of Julien’s production is white. He strives to produce white wines with flesh but with maximum freshness too. He wants to make balanced and precise whites. He is producing some of the most exciting Rhône whites - wines of genuine flair and class. The wines are very much in the image of the vigneron too – understated, stylish and relying more on nuance than overt power.”

In just a few vintages, his whites are among the best in the region. We recommend you start tracking them down now, before word really gets out.