Tuesday, November 13, 2012

An exciting and inexpensive white from the Southern Rhone


The southern Rhone Valley is a great place to find exciting wine at affordable prices. I tend to think of reds more than I do whites – and among wines like Côtes Du Rhône in the $10-$15 range, Vacqueyras in the $20-$30 range, and Gigondas and lower-priced Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the $30-$40 range – you can find wines with a sense of place, structural integrity, and bold expressive fruit that far out-drink their price points.

While reds lead the pack throughout the Rhone Valley, it’s also fun and easy to find excitement among the Rhone’s whites. My most recent find was a simple white blend, classified outside of France’s AOP classification as a Vin de France (AOP is the replacement for AOC, and Vin de France is the replacement for Vin de Table in the recent reforms of France’s wine classifications). The lower classification is merely because the wine includes 30% Sauvignon Blanc in its blend, a varietal not permitted in any of the Rhone AOP’s.


Coming from the Costières de Nîmes region in the south of the Southern Rhône Valley – the wine in question is produced in a partnership of Costières de Nîmes producer Michel Gassier, oenologist Philippe Cambie, and US importer Eric Solomon. The Michel Gassier 2011 Cercius Blanc is named for the Latin term for the mistral winds of Provence that sweep through the region, preserving freshness and acidity in the wines. It’s made from 70% Grenache Blanc and 30% Sauvignon Blanc, from 25 year-old vines grown in organically-farmed rocky soils. Fermentation and aging on lees takes place in cement tanks.

Think fresh and bright. The wine is light gold in color with notes of tangerine, grapefruit, rose hips and slate. Medium-bodied and rich on the palate with nice brightness augmented with subtle honeyed and spice depth. It finishes with nice balance throughout as well as lingering crisp fruit. Inviting and alluring on its own; it’s well rounded to pair with any number of foods. My vote would be seafood paella, with the brightness and minerality of the wine matching the rich spice and garlicky savory seafood. This is excellent overall and even better when you consider the $12.99 price point. It would also be a perfect wine by-the-glass in restaurants as well. 

There’s also a Cercius Côtes du Rhône red that’s a blend of Grenache and Syrah, also reasonably priced and fermented and aged in concrete – I’ll definitely pick that up if I come across it.

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