Vidal-Fleury

Vidal-Fleury is the longest continuously operating winery and négociant in the Rhône Valley. It makes wines from appellations all over the valley using the important regional varieties Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne.

The estate was founded in Côte Rôtie in 1781 and was one of the wine estates visited by Thomas Jefferson in 1787 during his time in France. Vidal-Fleury was established by the Vidal family and only took the Fleury name after a marriage between the two families at the end of the 19th century. In the 1920s, the company began expanding into appellations in the southern Rhône, while at the same time cementing its reputation as a Côte Rôtie producer.

Today, Vidal-Fleury makes red, white and rosé wine from appellations that include Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Saint-Joseph, Ventoux, Cornas and Condrieu. The signature wine is the single-vineyard La Chatillone from the Côte Blonde in Côte Rôtie. This wine is produced from old-vine Syrah grown on a 1-hectare (2.5-acre) plot, with up to 12 percent Viognier.

For over a decade during the first half of the 20th century Vidal-Fleury employed Étienne Guigal before he founded the major Rhône label E. Guigal. Guigal went on to buy Vidal-Fleury in 1984, although the two businesses continue to be run separately.