Vidal-Fleury Cornas AC

Vidal-Fleury Cornas is a red wine from the Rhone wine-growing appellation of Cornas. It is made from 100% Syrah / Shiraz grapes. Maison Vidal-Fleury is particularly known for its production of wines from the northern Rhône.

Vidal-Fleury was founded in the small town of Tupin-et-Semons by Joseph Vidal in 1781 and is the oldest continuously operating wine producer in the Rhône Valley. The winery built a well-earned reputation for crafting high-quality wines and, in the early 19th century, it became the official supplier of wines to the Papal Palace in Avignon. Vidal-Fleury was acquired by the world-famous Guigal family in 1984. Indeed, in 1924, Joseph Vidal-Fleury had hired Etienne Guigal, father of Marcel, as winemaker and cellar master. The most recent update to the business was in 2008 when a brand new winery opened which allowed Vidal-Fleury to leave their cramped historic cellar and gave them the proper space to age and bottle their wines. Guigal has always allowed Vidal-Fleury to operate independently.

The winery is situated in the heart of the Côte-Rôtie vineyards in the Northern Rhône. The company’s most significant vineyard holding is the 2.5 hectare Côte-Rôtie La Chatillonne located on the Côte Blonde. They also buy grapes from their long-established contacts with growers in Gigondas, St Joseph, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Condrieu et al. Today, they have one of the most diverse ranges in the Rhône Valley with wines from over 20 appellations.

The 100% Syrah grapes for the Vidal-Fleury Cornas come from vineyards in the Châteaubourg sector in the north of the appellation. The soils here are mainly granitic. The climate is temperate and the vineyards have southern exposure and are protected from the cooling winds from the north by the Arlettes massif. Vinification is with destemmed grapes, followed by alcoholic fermentation under controlled temperature with two to three weeks of vatting. Vidal-Fleury Cornas is aged in oak barrels for two and a half years in French oak barrels, 20% of which are new.