Delas Freres Condrieu La Galopine 2024
Delas Freres Condrieu La Galopine 2024
Vineyards: Parcels in Chavanay, Saint-Michel, and Vérin
Soils: Granite terraces
Exposure: East and southeast facing
Harvest: Hand harvested
Pressing: Whole-cluster pressing
Fermentation: Stainless steel
Malolactic fermentation: Blocked to preserve acidity and tension
Lees: Weekly bâtonnage through Christmas
Aging: Approximately 12 months
Vessels: Primarily stainless steel with a portion in Burgundy barrels
95 points Wine Advocate
Lively and gourmand, the 2024 Condrieu La Galopine wafts from the glass with aromas of honeysuckle, pear, white fruits and spices mingled with fresh menthol notes. Medium- to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, it’s dense and concentrated, built around a vibrant core of fruit that carries through a long, perfumed finish. The acidity is preserved by blocking malolactic fermentation on the Viognier, lending the wine notable freshness and tension.
In recent years, the house has moved toward a less demonstrative style, seeking greater elegance and definition than in the past. This evolution is expressed through a more nuanced approach to élevage, including increased use of Burgundy barrels and larger-format vessels, alongside a more selective choice of coopers—among them Taransaud, Chassin, Seguin Moreau, Marsannay and François Frères. The vineyards achieved organic certification in 2024, further underscoring this shift toward precision and balance. Winemaking remains broadly traditional, with a certain Bordeaux-inspired rigor that can render the wines somewhat reserved in youth, though this impression softens with a few years in bottle.
The 2023 vintage marks a clear success. The wines show greater precision and a more articulate expression of terroir than the 2022s, which at times seemed more shaped by the conditions of the year itself. The 2024 whites are likewise accomplished, defined by their freshness, elegance, and composure. Taken together, these recent vintages illustrate the extent of the progress achieved here—not through any single, dramatic change but rather through the accumulation of carefully considered adjustments. And it's those incremental refinements that, in the end, make all the difference.
