White Rhône
For those of you flicking through the putative SWA Wine List in our non-existent restaurant and feeling a bit short-changed by the lack of top-end whites from Burgundy, could we respectfully point you a couple of hundred kilometres further south instead?
As is often the case, there were some superb whites from the Rhône this year – particularly if you have deep pockets. The 2018 sunshine might not have worked for every region (Chablis and Sancerre were both fruitier than normal, for instance) but it was good news for Viognier and Condrieu, in particular, were wonderful.
From The Tasting Teams
‘So delicate and floral. Brilliant, very pretty. The more expensive they were, the more delicate they got. I was thinking, could I find that delicate, floral quality somewhere else for less money, but no, these were definitely Rhône wines and true to style – not heavy-handed with oak.’ Jade Koch, team leader
‘We had four medals but there could have been five or six; the quality was so good at the higher end.’ Olivier Gasselin, OenoTrade
‘Beautiful, elegant, aromatic…’ Raphael Thierry, consultant
‘A great flight, and probably one of the hardest to judge because of the high level of quality. Delicate and well-made. Definitely special-occasion wine.’ Tim Handley, Royal Automobile Club