Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022 - 90

Top
Rhones
Our blind panels tasted 114 Rhône wines
for this issue. Tara Q. Thomas, our critic
for Rhône wines, chose these 20 as the
top performers; an additional 5 Best Buys
follow the top selections. Find a complete
list of wines tasted and all reviews at
wineandspiritsmagazine.com.
WHITE
TOP CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
WHITE
95 | E. Guigal
$57
2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape ^ In the opulent,
well-upholstered style of white Châteauneuf-du-Pape,
this feels broad and rich,
with a satin texture and luxurious amounts of
peach and apricot fruit. The flavors last, their
nutty warmth and spicy detail pointing to the
wine's time in oak, the length pointing to the
mineral structure that will keep this vibrant
for years in the cellar. § Vintus, NY
TOP CONDRIEUS
95 | André Perret
$115
2019 Condrieu Chéry ^ André Perret has
been working in Condrieu since the 1980s,
back when many growers had given up
working the steep slopes for less physically
challenging jobs. This wine comes from his
50-year-old viognier vines at Chéry, a southfacing
patch of granite and mica-schist. Vinified
one-third in stainless-steel tanks, the
rest in oak, the wine is perfectly balanced
between honeysuckle florals, golden peachand-apricot
flavor and firm, savory minerality.
Powerful yet restrained, it lasts for days
after opening, remaining fresh and clean-a
sure sign that it will age well in bottle. § Kermit
Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA
94 | Jean-Luc Colombo
$90
2018 Condrieu Amour de Dieu ^ From a
steep granite slope planted to viognier 40
years ago, this radiates freshness, from its
head-turning floral scents to its crisp, sweet
peach flavors. It's bright and energetic, the
90
WINE & SPIR IT S
acidity directing the attention to the saline
minerality that holds the fruit firm. The
wine's vivacity makes it easy to drink now,
but this also has the structure to age well. §
Taub Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL
TOP HERMITAgE BLANC
95 | E. Guigal
$525
2017 Hermitage Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc ^
The Guigals make this wine only in vintages
they consider exceptional, such as the hot,
dry 2017. It's mostly marsanne with 10 percent
roussanne, the vines ranging from 40
years old to nearly 100; their concentrated
fruit was vinified entirely in new, house-coopered
oak barrels, and all of it went through
malolactic conversion. The result is an opulent,
powerful white wine, golden with notes
of caramel and roasted stone fruit. The wine
gets fresher with air, a vibrant, lemony acidity
giving it a lively feel, and the wood recedes,
becoming a background spice that adds texture
and complexity. Although the wine is
four years old, it's still very much in its youth,
wanting a decade in the cellar-although if
you open it now, it's pretty great with a gently
spicy pumpkin curry. § Vintus, NY
TOP ST-JOSEPH BLANC
94 | E. Guigal
$75
2019 St-Joseph Lieu-Dit Blanc ^ This bears
Guigal's signature, showing a sure hand with
oak-the lavish scents of toasty, spicy wood
its first greeting. The fruit rises to meet it,
masses of juicy pear and golden peach flavor
melding into a giant, seamless whole. A hint
of tannins helps shape the wine and draws
out an underlying earthiness. A huge wine
from the steep granite-and-gneiss lieu-dit
that gave this appellation its name, it's built
for the cellar and a grand meal. § Vintus, NY
BEST BUYS: WHITES
88 | E. Guigal
$19
2020 Côtes du Rhone Blanc (BEST BUY) ^
Mostly viognier, with a host of local varieties
making up the balance, this is ripe and
round, an inviting mouthful of sweet fruit
flavor. Floral notes add savor and interest,
along with peppery warmth. Give it a light
chill for a roast chicken dinner. § Vintus, NY
86 | Delas Frères
$15
2020 Côtes du Rhone St. Esprit Blanc (BEST
BUY) ^ This is light, clean and fresh, with a spicy
hit of alcohol in the end. Give it a chill for
aperitifs. § Maisons Marques & Domaines,
Oakland, CA
S PR IN g 202 2
BEST BUY: ROSÉ
88 | Delas Frères
$15
2020 Cotes du Rhone St. Esprit Rosé (BEST
BUY) ^ Orange-pink in color, this is smooth and
tangy, the tart cherry and cranberry notes
grounded by an earthy savor. A hint of tannins
gives it the structure and firmness to
pair with an herb-stuffed roast chicken. § Maisons
Marques & Domaines, Oakland, CA
RED
TOP CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPES
96 | Rotem &
Mounir Saouma
$111
2018 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Omnia ^ Rotem
and Mounir Saouma's aim with Omnia is to
build complexity from the diversity of their
nine parcels spread out over all five of Châteauneuf's
villages. The diversity continues
in the cellar, where Mounir puts the juice
into an assortment of containers, from large
foudres to small concrete eggs. Then he
leaves the wines to do their own thing for
18 months, without interference. The result
is exceptional in how it combines clarity,
finesse and grace with structure and complexity.
You might even mistake it for a Burgundy,
given its garnet hue and the flinty
reduction at first pass. But then, with air,
the meatiness of the grenache emerges, rosescented
and raspberry-bright. The longer
it's open, the brighter and more complex it
gets, channeling berry patches and rose gardens,
herbs and stones, a constant stream of
impressions passing like a high-speed slideshow
of Châteauneuf. § Vintus, NY
95 | E. Guigal
$105
2018 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Château de
Nalys Grand Vin Rouge ^ This is the first
vintage of Nalys that Philippe Guigal saw
through from budbreak to bottling, after
having purchased the estate in July 2017. He
blends it from all the estate's vineyards-the
sandstone-clay of Nalys; the high, sandy, alluvial
plateau of Bois Sénéchal; and the galetcovered
La Crau, which makes up 50 percent
of this blend. Fermented in oak vats, then
aged 18 months in oak (30 percent) and concrete,
it's a regal, elegant Châteauneuf, plush
in texture and alluring in its scents of wood,
berries and earth. The interplay of tart and
sweet fruit gives the wine lift and movement
and echoes the dichotomy of brisk acidity
and firm tannins. You could decant this
now, enjoying its fresh elegance with a steak
dinner, or wait another decade to see what
details time will bring. § Vintus, NY
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Wine & Spirits - Spring 2022

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