Learn everything about Vidal Fleury Cote Rotie with wine tasting notes, wine and food pairing tips, best vintages, a history of the property and information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important wineries and wine makers from the Rhone valley: Links to all Rhone Valley Wine Producer Profiles
Vidal Fleury History, Overview
What we know of as Vidal Fleury has one of the longest histories in the Rhone Valley. The formation of Vidal Fleury, by the Vidal family dates all the way back to 1781 making Vidal Fleury, the oldest wine, continuously producing estate in the entire Rhone Valley that has continued to remain active as a wine producer.
Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States visited the domaine in 1787, when Thomas Jefferson was touring the vineyards of France. During the same trip, Thomas Jefferson also toured the vineyards of Hermitage and Bordeaux and of course, Vidal Fleury.
The company officially became known as Vidal Fleury in the 1890’s when Gustave Vidal married the daughter of the Fleury family. The company, based in the Northern Rhone did not expand until the 1920’s into the Southern Rhone Valley.
Vidal Fleury is where Etienne Guigal got his start in the wine business, before he went on to form his own eponymous company.
Several decades later, in 1984, a few years after the last surviving member of the Vidal Fleury family passed away, the company Vidal Fleury was purchased by Etienne Guigal and his now famous and rapidly growing Ets Guigal company.
In 2006 Vidal Fleury underwent extensive renovations and modernizations, becoming one of the true, state of the art wineries in the entire Northern Rhone Valley. All of their vineyards are managed using only 100% self sustaining vineyard management techniques.
The best vintages of Vidal Fleury Cote Rotie are: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2003, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1995 and 1991.
Vidal Fleury Vineyards, Wines, Winemaking
Vidal Fleurie produces 3 Cote Rotie wines.
Vidal Fleury La Chatillonne is the top wine from Vidal Fleury vineyard on the Cote Blonde. La Chatillonne is produced from close to 1 hectare of vines on the Cote Blonde in the Chatillonne lieu-dit.
The Syrah vines for La Chatillone are almost 60 years of age. The blend includes up to 12% Viognier. La Chatillonne is aged on its lees in new, and used French oak barrels for up to 48 months before bottling. Not much of this wine is made as the production is under 300 cases of Vidal Fleury La Chatillonne per vintage.
Vidal Fleury Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde. As you might guess, the Brune et Blonde is produced from fruit harvested from both the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune hillsides. The blend is most often 95% Syrah with 5% Viognier. The wine is aged on its lees for up to 48 months in old, used oak foudres.
Vidal Fleury Brune et Blonde is fairly to find, and a lot less expensive to purchase than their top cuvee, as close to 1,000 cases of this wine are made each year.
Vidal Fleury Cote Rotie is their standard Cote Rotie, which is considered their entry level wine.
When to Drink Vidal Fleury, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Vidal Fleury, when young, should be decanted at least 1-2 hours, give or take, allowing the wines to soften and open their perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.
Vidal Fleury is often better with 8-10 years of cellaring and should be at its best between 10-20 years of age.
Serving Vidal Fleury with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips
Vidal Fleury is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.
Vidal Fleury is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised and grilled dishes, tomatoes, eggplant and sausage. Vidal Fleury is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms and pasta.
Serving and Decanting Vidal Fleury with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips
Vidal Fleury is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Young vintages can be decanted for 1-3 hours, depending on the character of the vintage. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Vidal Fleury is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised and grilled dishes. Vidal Fleury is also good with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms and pasta.
Condrieu, the white wine of Vidal Fleury is best served with a myriad of different seafood dishes, shellfish, crab, lobster, sushi, sashimi, chicken, pork and veal, as well as Asian cuisine.
While I do not get to taste these wines often enough, the wines being made today at Vidal Fleury are the best they have produced in years, if not ever in the history of the estate. Their top Cote Rotie wine, La Chatillonne sells for a fair price for a wine that is at its level of quality.
Aside from Cote Rotie, Vidal Fleury also produces red and white wine from Chateauneuf du Pape, Crozes Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas, St. Joseph, Condrieu, Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Cotes du Rhone, Cotes du Ventoux, Cairanne, Tavel and Muscat-de-Beaumes-de-Venise.
J. Vidal-Fleury Wine Tasting Notes
25 Vintages 50,145 Views Sort by Vintage-Rating
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2019
J. Vidal-Fleury la Chatillonne Côte Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
Vibrant, fresh, and lively, as well as reserved at the moment. With coaxing, you find spring flowers, cherries, licorice, thyme, and a touch of smoky oak. The supple, lush, and slightly polished finish hit all the right notes. Drink from 2024-2037. 1,636 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2022 |
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2019
J. Vidal-Fleury Brune et Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
Elegant, fresh, silky, and floral, the wine shows off its smoke and spicy, red berry character easily on the nose and vibrant, red berry oriented palate. Drink from 2022-2034. 1,894 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2022 |
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2019
J. Vidal-Fleury (Hermitage)
Fresh, vibrant red fruits, black pepper, herbs, and green olives with a hint of flowers show nicely in this medium/full-bodied wine. Drink from 2022-2032. 1,559 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2022 |
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2019
J. Vidal-Fleury (Cornas)
Vibrant, crisp, red fruits with a peppery edge shine in this medium/full-bodied, effort. Drink from 2022-2032. 1,565 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2022 |
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2019
J. Vidal-Fleury (Condrieu)
Flowers, white peach, spice, and pears with a hint of orange citrus shine through in this fully, ready-to-drink wine. Drink from 2022-2023. 1,400 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2022 |
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2019
J. Vidal-Fleury (Crozes-Hermitage)
Medium-bodied, fresh, vibrant, crisp red fruits with a black peppery accent are all over the nose and palate. Drink from 2022-2030. 1,696 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2022 |
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2019
J. Vidal-Fleury (St. Joseph)
Medium-bodied, with a core of smoky red berries, flowers, peppery herbs, and thyme provide the backdrop for this ready-to-go Syrah. Drink from 2022-2030. 1,716 Views Tasted Oct 9, 2022 |
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2018
J. Vidal-Fleury (Crozes-Hermitage)
Peppery black raspberries, herbs, smoke and spice come through easily. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, lifted, energetic, soft and juicy, with a crisp, sweet, red berry finish. 1,430 Views Tasted Feb 22, 2021 |
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2018
J. Vidal-Fleury (Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Loads of olives, garrigue, meat and pepper mix with the layers of red fruits, soft, silky textures and kirsch filled finish. The wine is medium-bodied, elegant, fresh and should drink well on release. 1,676 Views Tasted Oct 12, 2020 |
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2017
J. Vidal-Fleury (Hermitage)
A nice, open, silky style of Hermitage with elements of flower, pepper, smoke, black and dark red fruit. Full-bodied, with soft, lush tannins and a sweet, juicy, ripe, spicy, red fruit finish, give it just a few years in the cellar and this will be fully ready to go. 896 Views Tasted Feb 22, 2021 |
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2017
J. Vidal-Fleury (Cornas)
Deep ruby in color, the wine shows off its smoke, wet earth, pepper, black raspberry and rustic cherry nose easily. On the full-bodied palate, the wine is round, tannic, herbal, peppery and cherry filled, with a green olive note in the finish. 1,118 Views Tasted Feb 23, 2021 |
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2017
J. Vidal-Fleury Brune et Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
Elegant, silky, fresh, soft, pure, clean, smoky expression with loads of sweet red pit fruits on the nose and the palate. Forward in style, you can drink this with pleasure now, though it will be even better with a few years of age. 1,513 Views Tasted Feb 23, 2021 |
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2017
J. Vidal-Fleury (Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
Medium-bodied, elegant, sweet and fresh, with a core of ripe, soft, polished, red, peppery fruits, the wine is round, supple and fruity, with a ripe black cherry, silky textured finish. The wine blends 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre. 1,675 Views Tasted Sep 21, 2019 |
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2017
J. Vidal-Fleury (St. Joseph)
Medium-bodied, silky, fresh, bright, energetic offering with sweet, spicy red fruits that will drink well with just a few years of aging. 854 Views Tasted Feb 23, 2021 |
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2017
J. Vidal-Fleury (Gigondas)
Easy to like and drink, forward, soft, supple-textured charmer with loads of sweet, ripe kirsch, herbs and licorice on the nose and palate. 1,139 Views Tasted Feb 23, 2021 |
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2015
J. Vidal-Fleury la Chatillonne Côte Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
The deep, purple color looks great in your glass. And that's just the intro as the nose offers spice box, incense, flowers, smoke and red fruits. The sensual texture has no hard edges, instead it's all about the silky tannins, freshness to the fruits and the peppery edge in the finish. 2,233 Views Tasted Feb 11, 2019 |
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2015
J. Vidal-Fleury Brune et Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
Fresh exotic cherries, peppery spice, smoke and herbs pop almost before being asked. It only gets better on the palate as the wine is silky, fresh, forward and inviting. With loads of peppery zest, this is already showing really well, and it is only going to get better from here. 2,794 Views Tasted Feb 11, 2019 |
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2015
J. Vidal-Fleury (Châteauneuf-du-Pape)
I am not sure I have ever seen a Chateauneuf du Pape from Vidal Fleury before. Spicy in character, with incense, sweet red fruits and smoke catches your attention. Medium bodied. fresh and forward, with a nice style, there is sweetness to the red fruits here. This will drink well on release. 2,613 Views Tasted Aug 21, 2017 |
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2013
J. Vidal-Fleury (Côtes du Rhône)
Light in color and fruit, this is also easy to like, due to its sweet, peppery kirsch charm and soft textures. This is a nice, enjoyable, quaffer, that does not pretend to be anything else. 4,699 Views Tasted Dec 11, 2017 |
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2012
J. Vidal-Fleury la Chatillonne Côte Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
Luscious, supple-textured, aromatic and filled with sweet, fresh, ripe, juicy, dark cherries, flowers, smoke, olives and thyme, this is already starting to drink quite well. 1,695 Views Tasted Sep 29, 2018 |
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2010
J. Vidal-Fleury la Chatillonne Côte Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
With a beautiful floral nose, made even better with its smoke, earth, wild cherry, blackberry, stone, spice and espresso nose. Silky, polished, lively and fresh, medium/full bodied, with sweetness and purity to the dark red and black fruits that is good now, and will be better with age. For a Cote Rotie of this quality, the wine is priced quite fair, as Cote Rotie is an ever increasingly expensive appellation. 3,383 Views Tasted Sep 28, 2015 |
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2009
J. Vidal-Fleury la Chatillonne Côte Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
Young, full bodied, bright, vibrant, crisp red berries, flowers, smoke and licorice are found on the front end. Sweet, lush, concentrated and fresh, with opulent textures, the pure, spicy cherry liqueur in the finish really stands out. 3,122 Views Tasted May 24, 2016 |
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2007
J. Vidal-Fleury Brune et Blonde (Côte-Rôtie)
Medium bodied, fully developed, the wine offers wet earth, pepper, underbrush and bright, red berries. Soft, open and fresh, if you have a bottle, I'd pop a cork over the next couple of years. 1,931 Views Tasted Mar 13, 2018 |
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2007
J. Vidal-Fleury (Côtes du Rhône)
This charming, crowd pleasing wine is made from a blend of 65% Grenache and other Rhone varietals. Soft, round, sweet, medium bodied, with spicy kirsch in the finish. I'd drink this over the next year or two. 3,646 Views Tasted Jun 11, 2012 |
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1952
J. Vidal-Fleury (Hermitage)
Fully mature, and then some, yet, even though the wine was clearly hanging on to life by a thread, there was still enough, earthy, spicy, fresh, bright red fruits and herbal notes to be interesting, especially considering its age. 2,262 Views Tasted Dec 29, 2018 |
