Guillaume Gonnet, Lirac, Le Virtuose, Southern Rhône, France, 2021

Producer Profile

The energetic and charismatic Guillaume Gonnet is not your average Rhône winemaker. Extremely open in his attitude, his curious, boundary challenging approach extends beyond wine.

He travelled to the far ends of the earth, revelling in the opportunity to surf some of the best waves in the world while learning his craft in various Australian and New Zealand regions. Returning to the Rhône, now with his Australian wife Kelly, Guillaume has shown similar energy for his family estate and for his own nascent project. This land locked surfer may be miles from the ocean but is happily riding the wave of new found enthusiasm for Grenache based wines. Pursuing biodynamics wherever possible, allowing his fruit to express itself freely through hands-off winemaking and displaying his fascination for the varying soils of the Rhône through his diverse range of wines, he's just the sort of restless creative that we love to work with.

Viticulture

This particular vineyard practices, Lutte raisonnée, literally “reasoned fight” (in French), or “supervised control” (in English), regarded as a pragmatic approach to farming, where chemical treatments are used only when absolutely necessary. Biodiversity in the vineyards is encouraged through the planting of cover crops, rigorous plowing of the soils, and the use of manures and natural composts to fertilize the vines.

Winemaking

Traditional fermentation and ageing in concrete vats 12 months.

Oak Ageing

No oak ageing

Tasting Note

Intense red and black fruits, lots of spices and garrigue (herbs from Provence), soft, elegant tannins developing complex aromas (liquorice, truffle and dark chocolate) with ageing.

Food Matching

This wine deserves to be served with a slow cooked meal such as a Daube (Southern French casserole) or a baked lamb.

Awards

Wine Spectator 90 Points
A glossy stream of bitter cherry and plum puree notes is augmented by smoked apple wood and rooibos tea–laced tannins that hold firm. White pepper and smoked meat notes hang in the backdrop. This is broad and mineral-rich, with some gutsy staying power. Grenache and Syrah. Drink now through 2028. 2,000 cases made, 400 cases imported. 90 Points, 2024.
Wine Advocate 89 Points
A concrete-aged blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, Gonnet's 2021 Lirac Le Virtuose is a strong effort. There's a faint herbal tang to the black cherry aromas, but this full-bodied wine is surprisingly ripe and velvety on the palate, perhaps even a bit overdone for some palates. 89 Points, JC, 2024.