Yves Cuilleron

Domaine Cuilleron is a family business run by Yves Cuilleron since 1987. Yves took over the Cuilleron estate after completing several internships and training courses on the subject. He started out at the same time as a generation that was starting from scratch: Villard, les Gaillard, and others. With this generation, he embarked on a whole new adventure: founding Vins de Vienne. After that, a vineyard was created from land purchased at affordable prices. Several abandoned vineyards were enhanced in record time. Yves was part of a movement of exceptionally dynamic winegrowers. Replanting and restoration were necessary after leasing and farming. The Vin de France Persan (2018) is one of the wines made from old grape varieties.

Yves Cuilleron rejects "ready-made thinking." His vision of viticulture is entirely personal: neither conventional, organic, nor biodynamic. His philosophy is simple: "Produce the best grapes possible." He therefore practices "reasonable" viticulture, where observation is key. All the work in the vineyard that is essential to the quality of the grapes is carried out.

Yves Cuilleron applies a unique principle to winemaking: "Keep it as simple as possible." He is also very attached to local traditions. For all wines: manual harvesting, meticulous sorting of grapes, alcoholic fermentation using only natural yeasts, without the addition of other oenological products, with only temperature control.

The Yves Cuilleron wine cellar has expanded over time. Currently, the estate covers approximately 90 hectares in Cornas, Côte Rôtie, Saint-Joseph, Condrieu, and Saint-Péray. This expansion was made possible after numerous negotiations. The estate produces high-end wines, especially whites. These wines express great finesse thanks to oak aging. The highly mature wines were released in 2019. Some are ripe and rich, while others are solid or more tense. Suitable for aging, Cornas is covered with wood and has excellent vitality in the end. The Vin de France Syrah Sybel (2019) is one of the rosé wines from this cellar.

To obtain Yves Cuilleron wine, there is no need to buy grapes. In one year, 540,000 bottles of wine are produced from the vineyard in question. Red wine is planted on an area of 50 hectares and white wine is grown on 40 hectares. Aging in oak barrels lasts 18 months for red wines and 9 months for white wines. The winegrowers use manual harvesting methods for this. The average age of the vines is around 35 years. The red Syrah grape variety is used 100% of the time. For white grape varieties, there is 20% Marsanne, 24% Roussanne, and 56% Viognier. Bourasseau vintages also come from this same vineyard: Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, and Côte-Rôtie.