François Villard is a leading voice of the northern Rhône, a self-taught vigneron who left the restaurant world in the late 1980s to farm steep, granitic slopes from Vienne down to Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie. Starting with a handful of rows and a first vintage in the early 1990s, he has grown into a benchmark for precise, expressive Viognier and finely structured Syrah, with parcels across Condrieu, Côte-Rôtie, Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage and select IGP sites. He is also one-third of the famous Villard–Cuilleron–Gaillard partnership behind “Les Vins de Vienne.”
The hallmark is ripe fruit carried by freshness. In Condrieu, Villard chases tension in Viognier—harvesting on the edge of ripeness, fermenting and raising in barrel (with a careful share of new oak), and using lees work to build texture without heaviness. The whites show nectarine, apricot and citrus oil with jasmine, fennel and a mouth-watering, saline finish. In red appellations, Syrah is mostly destemmed (with whole bunch used when stems are lignified), extraction is gentle, and élevage spans barrels and larger formats so oak reads as polish and length, not flavour. The reds carry black cherry and blackberry, violet and cracked pepper over graphite-granite drive—supple yet vertical.
Parcel thinking drives everything: each slope, soil stripe and exposure is vinified separately, then blended for clarity and balance. In Condrieu, expect layered cuvées (including selections from Deponcins and neighbouring lieux-dits) that deliver richness with line; in Côte-Rôtie, cuvées from schist and mica-schist bring perfume and fine, filigree tannins; in Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage, granite and alluvial fans give energetic Syrah made for the table as much as the cellar. A strong set of IGP wines (notably the “Contours” bottlings) offers earlier-drinking windows into the house style at keen value.
Farming is sustainable and increasingly organic in practice; yields are kept modest, picking dates target flavour and acidity rather than sugar, and sulfur is used with a light hand. Across colours, the through-line is clarity: site first, ripe but never sweet, texture in support, and a dry, savoury finish.
Cellaring guide (broad): Condrieu drinks well young but gains honeyed, hazelnut nuance over 3–6 years; Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage reds open from 3–7 years; Côte-Rôtie hits stride from 6–12+. For anyone searching “François Villard Rhône,” think Condrieu with tension, Syrah with lift, and meticulous parcel craft—modern precision anchored in classic granite.
