A Faury Tale.

Last night I visited an old friend. The Northern Rhône Valley has its share of rock star winemakers, but I am happy to report that Phillipe Faury is not one of them. Mr. Faury looks more like Amish farmer than rock star...excepting the fact that his cherry demeanor and ever-present smile gives him away. He doesn't seek the limelight, nor has the style of his wines become internationalized. Since taking over his family's estate in 1979, he has quietly set about increasing both the acreage of his his holdings (from five to nearly 30) and improving their quality.

Faury makes wines near the top of hills in the sleepy town of Chavanay, just south of Condrieu. His vineyards are very steep and forbidding...it's hard to imagine farming these vines without breaking an arm, twisting an ankle or throwing out your back. But Philippe has toiled here for four decades, and his results are amazing. Today he is joined in the vineyard and cellar by his son, Lionel, who definitely looks more rock star than his father. But he possess his father's quiet, unassuming nature and dedication to his craft.

The domaine produces a solid Côte-Rôtie (perhaps the most-improved wine in the lineup here), and an amazing Condrieu (always one of my favorites of the appellation), but it is the Saint-Josephs that you should check out to really get a sense of what Faury is all about. Last night I reaquainted myself with Faury's Saint-Joseph Blanc, a blend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne. All too often the white wines from this appellation are weighty, ponderous and dull. The 2008 Faury Saint-Joseph is none of these things. What it delivers instead is a crisp, finesse-driven beauty that's loaded with minerality (granitic soils here) blended with light-toned fruit (think apples, lime and quince). While drinking nicely now, I think this wine has decades ahead of it. And as good as the Saint-Joseph white is, the red is even better.

We've recently imported a small amount of the Faury family's wine. It's a pleasure to taste them all, and to know they're being made by such wonderful people. Do yourself a favor and check them out soon before they're gone.

SAINT-JOSEPH BLANC / #52064
SAINT-JOSEPH ROUGE / #52074
CONDRIEU / #52044