Rhône: New Releases

Alain Voge’s pithy sparkling wine, Les Bulles d’Alain, is unlike anything else we have on our list. It is lively, dry, refreshing, and refined. If you’re in the mood for bubbles, but don’t want the weight of a Champagne, this is the perfect option, and a smart price too. It’s a very good example of why Saint-Péray has built its renown for sparkling wines.

Alongside their impressive reds, the domaine makes wonderful still whites from Marsanne. Saint-Péray Ongrie is a mouth-watering white, with Marsanne’s satisfying and refreshing bitterness matched to fresh, ripe fruit.

Much like the Coudoulet Rouge, this is outstanding value for money. But until the Coudoulet Rouge, it is produced in miniscule quantities, so it’s a pleasure to have some at all. Like a baby Beaucastel Blanc.

The is a legendary white in the Southern Rhône. It comes from a tiny parcel of gnarled old Roussanne vines, and is produced in tiny quantities. In 2019 only 6000 bottles were produced.

This is a blend of Roussanne (80%), Grenache blanc (15%), and Picardan/Clairette/Bourboulenc (5%) from a 7 hectare plot. It is one of the finest white blends in the Southern Rhone.

Honey-scented, and brimming with blossom and orchard aromas. The palate is dry but rich and nicely weighted. It is a blend of mainly Marsanne and Clairette. The Marsanne is grown on limestone and brings a pretty fruit character. The Clairette meanwhile comes from some extremely old vines, aged 140-150 years old. It brings an amazing freshness to the wine, not built around acidity but around salinity. This is such a characterful white, vibrant and charming.

Much like Vincent’s red blend, his white is one of the most respected and age-worthy in the appellation. Fruity and floral in youth, the Clos des Papes whites take on a nutty, savoury dimension with age, and are well worth cellaring.

2019 is the second, and sadly last, vintage of this wine, which comes from a plot of very old (100 years+) vines found just 200m from the appellation boundary of St Joseph. It is a blend of local varieties like Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier, with the striking addition of a Savoyard grape variety: Jacquère. Usually, this variety is found on the Alpine slopes, and makes salty, mineral, vibrantly high-acid wines. The 2019 is lower in alcohol and lighter in body than the 2018, with a distinctly salty twist thanks to the Jacquère. Don’t miss it.

At first it is lightly scented with notes of elderflower, pineapple and rose. With some air and time in the glass it begins to open up and show Viognier’s brilliant flare. It’s luscious, silky, and fresh on the palate, with a scintillating mineralogy woven through the tropical fruits making it irresistible. As ever, this is a benchmark Condrieu from the Perrets.

If André’s straight Condrieu is the benchmark, then this is a wine that transcends its category altogether. The vines here are approaching 70 years old, and the wine has explosive aromatics, bursting with ripe peach and nectarine aromas. There is so much tension and persistence on the palate. A wine of amplitude and indulgence, it remains a remarkably fair price.

This comes from parcels in the south of the appellation, in St Pierre de Boeuf. The east/north-east aspect makes this site cooler than many, and its granite and gneiss soils results in superb mineral tension to the wine.

This comes from a blend of fruit from Chavany - which gives the wine a fruity profile, and fruit from Vérin - which adds minerality and tension. It has a wonderful pineapple and honey nose. The palate has Viognier’s ripe richness, but remains delicate nevertheless, offering finesse on the long, fragrant finish.

This site is in Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône, just south of Château Grillet in the heart of the Condrieu appellation, where the quartzite mica-schist soils make wines of length and finesse. This has an opulent, smoky, peachy character, and opens up with layer upon layer of depth with some time in the glass.

2019 is the first release made from the vines Julie and Graeme planted themselves in their garden. Effectively, where their whole adventure began. The vineyard sits between Coteau de Chéry and Château Grillet, behind their house in Vérin. They like to pick their whites early, and here they have captured the freshness of just-ripened Viognier with its silky texture in this stunning debut. There’s a tangy grip here which we love. Just 934 bottles have been made.

This is a poised and energetic Condrieu. The Botts are not looking for richness and ripe alcohols in their whites. To that end they pick fairly early. This is 13.5% abv, and is packed with vibrant fresh fruit flavours - melon and Conference pear with a hint of nutty almond in the background. A superb wine.

Clos des Cazaux’s beautiful old vine white from Vacqueyras is one of the secret weapons on this list. Great value, and packed with peachy, bright flavours, sality and dancing freshness.

This comes from old vines planted in the historic vineyard. It is undeniably powerful, and would benefit from a few years in the cellar.

Rich, waxy, and impressively proportioned. Lots of salty lemons on the nose, with a waxy, almond weight to the palate.

These vines grow not far from Ampuis, and make an impressive white from Viognier. It is powerful and spicy, and refreshingly vibrant in 2019.

This is a rounded and aromatic style of Condrieu, with pure, bright aromas and a silky texture.

This Condrieu from a granitic south-west facing parcel has gained something of a following at Domaine Rostaing. It is the only white they make from the appellation, and is aged exclusively in stainless steel tanks. In 2019 it is brimming with ripe lemon, pineapple, pear, and almond aromas. The palate is smooth and gliding, with a light gingerbread note. Condrieu in its purest form.

Beautiful fragrance and elegance on this stunning southern white. There’s texture and restraint here, and a finish that just makes you want to have another glass.

This wine is a breath of fresh air: Sylvain blocks the malolactic fermentation to keep the freshness, and the wine has a salty length and a balanced frame. The best Saint-Joseph Blanc we tasted this year.

This is a selection of the family’s favourite tonneaux (the large demi-muid barrels they like to use for ageing) of their larger Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée. It is 90% Marsanne, and has a rich, nutty aroma, with a nicely spicy lift. Refreshingly balanced.

This is a densely powerful wine, with pronounced apple character on the palate: rich with orchard crunch, with some weighty energy behind. Exuberant and athletic, with a sumptuous energy. Only two demi-muids were produced.

This is a superb single variety expression from Stéphane Robert, in whose hands the whites of the Northern Rhône take on a precision and elegance uncommonly found.

This comes from a single parcel of very old Marsanne vines in the heart of the village. Incredible focus, balanced body, and a long and rewarding finish. Worth ageing for a while to admire where it goes.

A grippy and savoury wine from one of the masters of white wine in the region. It has drive, pithy texture, and a mouthwatering finish. Amazing complexity for the price.

This is a blend of fruit from 100-year-old Marsanne vines with 40-50 year old Roussanne vines. Salty, textured, complex, mineral, and exciting.

From 50+ year old Marsanne vines, the low yields of this warm site give an intense concentration. 50% ageing in 600l oak foudres gives the oak presence, stitched nicely into the sumptuous fruit. It's smoky, stony, grippy and deceptively light on its feet.

This is a blend of three superbly well-placed plots on the hill of Hermitage: L’Ermite, La Tourette and Le Sabot. The nose is brimming with apples and floral spice. This should soar with a few years tucked in the cellar.

This comes from a site very near to Château Grillet, and shows great opulence and purity, but at a fraction of the price of its famous neighbour.

This equal split of Marsanne and Roussanne comes from the pebbly alluvial soils which sit on top of clay and limestone on the lower terraces of the appellation. The vines are fairly old now, between 40 and 60 years, and produce a brilliant concentration with plenty of flavour. It is salty and peachy, with a long, balanced finish.

Domaine de Roure was bought by the Jaboulet family in 1966. It is just north of Tain l’Hermitage, and the small valley here is also home to much wildlife. In fact, the Frey family established a biodiversity refuge, so fantastic is the ecological habitat. This white is made exclusively from Marsanne grapes grown on the white loess soils found here. The average vine age spans 60 to 100 years, and the 2019 shows plenty of the saline concentration you would expect, with some charming apricot and almond notes, and bright minerality underneath.

This classic Hermitage blend of 70% Marsanne and 30% Roussanne comes from vinews grown on a particularly steep part of the hillside. It is spiced and full-bodied. Gentle vinification in concrete eggs and oak barrels (only a small proportion new) coax out the fruit.