Lionel Faury is one of the Northern Rhône’s most admired small producers, known for crafting supple, expressive, and terroir‑driven Syrah from steep granitic slopes in Saint‑Joseph, Côte‑Rôtie, and surrounding hillsides. The Faury style leans toward freshness, lift, and aromatic purity rather than heavy extraction—favoring whole berries, gentle fermentation (often in concrete), and aging in a mix of barrel sizes to preserve nuance. His wines typically show violets, pepper, dark berries, and granite‑driven minerality, with a balance of charm and structure that has made them favorites among Rhône enthusiasts. Across the range, Faury’s bottlings are celebrated for being vibrant, soulful, and authentically Northern Rhône, offering both immediate pleasure and the ability to age gracefully.
Lionel prefers to make supple reds with soft tannin and ample freshness. A testament to his house style, the 2021 Les Ribaudes is vibrant and balanced with juicy dark fruit, a hint of peppery spice, and earthy minerality imprinted by its granite terroir. A charismatic Syrah as multifaceted as its maker.
94 Decanter Gorgeous nose of violets and pink peppercorns. It's tannic, powerful, but enjoyably strict and straight. Good energy and intensity, not as soupy as some 2022s, though certainly ripe and long, with great verve. Fermented in concrete with some whole berries; aged in barrels of various sizes.
93 Wine & Spirits This wine grows on a granitic plateau above La Ribaudy, just west of Chavanay. Give it some attention, and you’ll find a dark set of fruit flavors behind the initial high-tone lift—as a faint volatile acidity settles into the frame of the fruit, the wine layers a crystalline aspect of crisp strawberries over purple plum and blackberry. Then it lasts with beefy peppercorn spice. It’s quaffable stuff.
93 Wine Spectator A dark, inky version, with a brooding core of black raspberry and cassis underscored by salt, iron and bread. Firmly structured, with sanguine notes of herbs, saucisson and smoke that show real power. The finish is held taut by muscular yet refined black tea tannins that need time to unwind. Drink now through 2032. 936 cases imported.
