A man with quite a CV, Pierre Jean Villa was born in the Rhone with a half Spanish family, but began his wine career in Burgundy. Clos de Tart and Domaine de la Vougeraie were employers and he still has a micro-negoce in Nuits St- Georges. He returned to the Rhone to smarten up the wines from Vins de Vienne and did a remarkable job improving them. So much so that he became a co-owner. Then in 2009 he began his own entreprise, based in St-Joseph and the border with Condrieu goes through the winery. He bought old vines mostly and now makes a very impressive range of wines, which explore the pre-phylloxera areas, largely abandoned these days. The wines are perfumed and beautifully textured. These are truly fine wines in terms of complexity and tannin management. The vines are planted in lots of small plots dotted around the northern Rhone so Pierre Jean has lots of possibilities to play with. He is a brilliant viticulturalist with a particular interest in pruning and he uses an old method entirely based on quality. (CW 28/08/19)