Julien Cécillon

Julien Cécillon established this estate in 2011 alongside his wife, Nancy Kerschen, a native of Houston, Texas. Cécillon represents the eleventh generation of a winemaking family based in Tournon sur Rhône. Although his maternal uncle, the celebrated producer Jean-Louis Grippat, retired and sold his vineyards to the Guigal family in 1998, Cécillon felt a strong pull toward his ancestral heritage. After working for various wineries in the Rhône Valley, California, and South Africa, he returned to Tournon to launch his own project. The couple began with a tiny parcel of just 0.3 hectares in Saint Joseph and has since built a respected domaine through persistent acquisition of small, high-quality vineyard plots.

The winery is based in Tournon sur Rhône within the Ardèche department, with vineyard holdings extending across the appellations of Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, and Saint-Péray. The estate transitioned to organic agriculture in 2019 and received formal certification in 2022. Their Saint-Joseph parcels are characterized by the granite de Tournon soil, a mix of decomposed granite, sand, and gneiss that provides distinct acidity and lift to the wines. In the cellar, Cécillon uses native yeasts and minimal intervention. Red wines are fermented in stainless steel with a portion of whole clusters before undergoing aging in used French oak barrels for 14 to 18 months, a practice intended to emphasize terroir over wood influence.

Signature wines from the domaine include the Saint-Joseph Rouge Babylone, which is produced from century old vines, and the Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites, sourced from 80 year old Syrah vines on the eastern slopes of the Hermitage hill. They also produce several micro-négociant cuvées and an IGP Syrah titled Les Graviers, named for the gravelly site of their original cellar. The estate has quickly gained a reputation as a standout of the new generation in the Northern Rhône, earning praise from established figures like Jean-Louis Chave. Their winemaking style is frequently noted for balancing the traditional power of the region with a sense of elegance and transparency.