I enjoy white Rhônes a lot but drink them relatively seldom (we drink too much Burgundy, I guess).
They are almost invariably what the French call gastronomic wines, meaning they need to be served with food; yet the kind of dishes they go especially well with are not really in fashion these days. Think quenelles sauce Nantua, or veal sweetbreads in cream sauce, or various other classic French dishes that are out of favor among the cardiac-conscious.
The white Rhône I own the most of is Fonsalette Blanc, which needs 10+ years to really show its cards. The Marsanne component makes it a bit less overbearing than white Rayas can be, and thus a bit more versatile. I like off vintage Chave Hermitage for the same reason - you can actually drink it! In the powerful years, especially since Jean-Louis has been making it, Chave Hermitage Blanc is not so much a glass of wine as an event.
I have found Beaucastel Blanc to have premox issues…
I love Rhone white wines . They lack acidity but can be deliciously fruity ( melon , nectarine etc ) . I think you should drink them young ( age 1 to 5 )
Andre Perret makes a wonderful Condrieu ( Chery ) , not too heavy like some of the top scoring Condrieu’s .
Pierre Gonnon’s St Joseph blanc is wonderful but hard to find .
But the region excels in inexpensive wines : i.e. Chapoutier makes a Saint-Peray that costs 12 euro’s and is delicious .
I had a 2014 Chave HB last night. Couldn’t figure out if it was corked or just supposed to be like that. Muted nose, very little fruit and a chemically flavor that was extremely unpalatable.
IMHO the string of recent good vintages, climate change and technological improvements probably mean there is more good+ quality white rhone available than in the past. Personally, I really like (some) white rhones but that is based on a number of favourites rather than any conscious effort to taste broadly. Firstly, my view on suitability with food is a wee bit different to what’s already been suggested in this thread. Because they can feel relatively low acid and / or more viscous, I find the wines go particularly well with food that is sometimes harder to balance - e.g. due to acidity or spice. So I find white rhone a great foil to Szechuan dishes, sushi & sashimi, ceviche, middle eastern / north African - anything fresh or spice-hot or with strong citrus influence or with earthy / nutty spices.
In the south, I really only like the Rousseanne dominant wines, which means Beaucastel (ordinary and VV) as these get lovely floral and honeycomb notes with age. I find the Grenach-blanc / Bourbolenc wines quite dull and boring, even with age, though concede they can be interesting texturally. In the north, of course Chave is great - in my view you don’t need to wait 20+ years and it’s more like drink early or leave 12+. I’m not at all surprised by the note on the '14 above. 2007 and 2009 are good now for example. I have not had good experiences with the Chapoutier cuvees and echo others there - stay away. Much more accessible are Tunnel’s wines, which have been good across the board for the last few vintages. Really interesting wines, and at the top level (which is still far, far cheaper than Hermitage Blanc) they are top notch. In terms of Condrieu, Vernay is head and shoulders above the rest. Cuilleron and others sometimes make an interesting wine, but Vernay smashes it year after year !
At 5/6 years of age, that really sounds like it is in a shut-down period, which can begin soon after the 3rd year. Try another bottle in 3-4 years and see if it doesn’t come around.
Pretty much agree with everything here, including the versatility of them. People ascribe a narrow window to these wines when they can be paired broadly.
Love them. Hedonistic when young, it’s a bit of a crapshoot when and if they come out the other side fully intact. I find the dumb phase hugely more pronounced and the length much more random. BUT! when they come out the otherside they can be mind-blowingly sublime.
As opposed to others above I quite like and have had great results from Chapoutier’s Chante - alouette but chave hermitage, vernay and beaucastel’s vv are really all you ever need to buy. All world class wine.
Hard to generalize, styles vary a lot and not just based on the grape varieties and geographics. My experience is mostly with the Northern Rhône where especially (but not only) many of the younger guns seem to be aiming for freshness and drinkability and those wines (mostly Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage and IGP varietal wines) can be extremely food-friendly, tasty and interesting. Some names to try:
Dard & Ribo (obviously the Hermitage is a bigger wine that seems to be able to live forever)
Aurélien Chatagnier
Olivier Dumaine
Christelle Betton
Rousset
Guy Farge
Julien Cecillon
Domaine du Colombier
I personally enjoy the youthful aromatics and sometimes a minerally streak in these so am not looking to age them, even if some of them would have potential for that.
I usually find Cotes du Rhone Blanc more than satisfactory as a quaffer, and you might get even more at the Villages or Cru level. A recent good example was Domaine Pelaquie Villages Laudun. I also enjoy 100% Viognier bottlings from the Rhone, without any prestige designation. Recent good ones were Chapoutier La Combe Pilate (Biodynamic Alchemy!) and a very versatile Villard Les Contours de Deponcins. (both of these Viognier were about $30).
We had the 2015 Villard ‘Les Contours de Poncins’ [Vin de France] a couple years ago. It was indeed excellent, around $25 via mailorder. like Condrieu, I’d rather have on the youthful side. It’s full boded, very floral, and honeyed. Easy A- in my book.
Had a get together with friends on Saturday night: different groups of us had met up in Sablet (just a couple of km from Gigondas) in 2014 & 2017, so with travel on hold this year celebrated ‘Sablet in the South’.
We had a couple of southern Rhône whites: a 2013 Domaine de la Charbonniere Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc and a 2016 Domaine de la Mordorée Lirac Blanc Cuvee Reine des Bois. The latter was quite fat and rich and while very nice seemed older than its years. The former was as fresh as a daisy: honeysuckle, stonefruits, a minerally almost saline hint and just delicious alongside food. I’m not sure of the cépage of the two of them? Not a wine style that I get to drink that often, though with several Rhône fans amongst my group of friends they do pop up from time to time.I’m never quite sure of the ageing potential for them, and would drink most in a year or two, though I have aged some Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc; mostly with success.
not-quite-commercial post: I import a number of white wines from the Rhone, as well as some others made from the same varieties. I will recommend Appellations, not specific wines.
For me, White Hermitage a monument of the world of white wine. Quality and style obviously vary enormously among producers (including one I represent), but overall I find this an Appellation for wines that can be really great and really long-lived at reasonable prices for greatness. Last week I had a 2010 from my producer during our all-too-short halibut season.
For less money, St Joseph and Crozes Hermitage are solid. St Joseph is much smaller, more consistent and more reliable, but the best white Crozes can be almost as good as White Hermitage. A tiny, rare Appellation that offers excellent quality and value is St. Peray.
Many Chateauneuf producers are raising their game with white. Beaucastel’s VV old vine Roussanne has been justly famous for a long time. It ain’t cheap.
Many white Cotes du Rhones make good every-day drinking, but we are usually out of fine wine territory.
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