Syrah De l'autre Rive 2024 Julien Pilon

The Syrah De l'Autre Rive 2024 from Julien Pilon is the founding and most personal cuvée of the domaine, the wine that started it all before the prestigious whites that built the house's reputation. Its name traces intimate geography: an old vine planted on the left bank of the Rhône, across from the commune of Condrieu, the other bank, where Julien Pilon first set foot as a winemaker. A Syrah of pleasure, gourmand and direct, embodying better than anything else the idea that Julien Pilon's wines, even the most approachable, are first and foremost wines of a vigneron: precise, digestible and sincere.

Terroir and the vineyard

De l'Autre Rive comes from a single old vine planted on the left bank of the Rhône in the Collines Rhodaniennes, facing Condrieu. This left bank terroir is radically different from the steep granite slopes that dominate the right bank: the soils here are clayey, structured, and scattered with rolled pebbles, those Rhône alluviums accumulated over centuries by the river, which give the wine suppleness, roundness and immediate fruit that granite terroirs naturally lack. It is precisely this soil difference that explains the gourmand and approachable character of this cuvée, in contrast with the domaine's Condrieu and Côte Rôtie from the granite slopes of the right bank. Vinification is meticulous and unobtrusive: hand harvest of old vines, complete destemming, vinification in open stainless steel vats with a three week maceration and short but frequent punch-downs without pressing to gently extract aromas, malolactic fermentation in barrels, then ten months ageing in used barrels, with no new oak, never to mask the natural fruit and freshness of the Syrah.

Tasting profile

The colour is a brilliant violet purple, bright and luminous. The nose is expressive and immediately seductive: aromas of crisp red fruits, raspberry, tart cherry, wild blackberry, mingle with notes of liquorice, fresh pepper and sweet spices, with a touch of smoked meat and cedar that marks the great northern Rhône Syrahs even on a plain terroir. On the palate, suppleness takes hold at once: the tannins are fine, well silked and of remarkable silky texture, fresh acidity brings tension and drinkability, and ample fruity matter unfolds with lightness and naturalness. The finish is clean, fruity and lightly peppery, with pleasant persistence. A complex Syrah without pretension, gourmand, lively and digestible, to open without ceremony but with the care every good vigneron's wine deserves.

The domaine

Julien Pilon is one of the most engaging and promising figures in the northern Rhône vineyard. Settled in Chavanay on the right bank of the Rhône, he made his first vintages in 2010 in his parents' garage, with no land or cellar. Trained under Yves Cuilleron, at Mas Amiel in Roussillon, in Spain at Terra Remota, then in Banyuls alongside Pierre and Pascale Gaillard, and finally under Pierre-Jean Villa in Chavanay, he forged a precise and recognisable personal style, awarded one star by Revue du Vin de France. His approach is clear: care for ageing, individualise each plot and vintage, respect the purity of fruit. 80% of production goes to white wines, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Péray, Hermitage, but his reds, reflecting the vigneron's personality, are equally successful: understated, stylish, and nuanced in a way that rests more on finesse than power.

Food pairings

This Syrah De l'Autre Rive is the ideal companion to a fine charcuterie board, calf liver à la lyonnaise, pork medallions with prunes, grilled duck breast with spices, black pudding with apples, or a plate of affinage soft cheeses. Served between 14 and 15 °C, lightly chilled, it will reveal all its vibrancy and crisp fruit, perfect too as a convivial aperitif, in the direct and generous spirit that is the hallmark of this cuvée.