2017 Domaine de la Côte Sainte-Epine St. Joseph Blanc Vieilles Vignes, France, Rhone, Wine Review

On a cold winter Sunday, after making a pot of Lentil Soup, this was opened and it was a perfect match. St. Joseph Blancs are not all that common but this one is worth searching out (so are this producer's reds)! Light golden in color. The nose is nice with a bit of wax, but nice peach and slight tropical fruit. Very clean. On the palate, this comes across with a lot of acidity until the finish where it get's really turned up. Nice creamy texture. Some peach and slight bees wax. Depth For around $25, this was a great match.

Grade:

A-

Score:

Vintage:

2017

Current Price:

$26.97USD

2018 Domaine de la Côte Sainte-Epine St. Joseph Blanc Vieilles Vignes, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage:

2018

Score:

Grade:

A-

This is a Marsanne/Roussanne blend from the northern Rhone were less than 10% of production is in white grapes. Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is all about minerality with a slight waxy/apple note as well. Medium bodied.

America's Best Rhone Style White Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. Like many lovers of Rhone style wines from America, we have just returned from the 2008 edition of the annual Rhone Rangers tasting event at Fort Mason in San Francisco (March 18). This was the 11th year that the Rhone Rangers , a group of about 200 American producers of wines using 22 varietals traditional to France’s Rhone Valley, have shown off their wines at this public tasting event. This year, about 138 wineries presented approximately 520 wines. During the tasting, we enthusiastically tasted as many wines as we could within the 5 hours (3 public and 2 trade/media) the event was open. We tasted 30 white wines first, and then we tasted 50 reds. We skipped the rosés, not because we don’t love them, but because we didn’t have time. Kudos to Rhone Rangers for providing eco-friendly paper spit cups instead of the plastic cups so common at other tastings. We divided our attention between wines and producers we have known previously, producers new to us, and specific bottlings we didn’t already know. While we found many wines to admire, we are sure we missed other gems.

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2017 J.L. Chave Sélection St. Joseph Circa, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage:

2017

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$30.00USD

This is the "Negociant" line of wines although the vineyards are in fact, owned by Chave. It is what used to be labelled as Celeste. There are two big differences between this and the Hermitage. First, this is 100% Roussanne while those are all or mostly Marsanne. Second, this is grown on granite soils as opposed to limestone and schist giving this wine more minerality. Yellow gold in color. The nose is very nice. Minerals for sure but also a bit of was and vanilla with an earthiness that is intriguing. On the palate, this has a lovely creamy texture. Slightly lemon with vanilla an

2016 Domaine des Miquettes St. Joseph Madloba, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage:

2016

Score:

Grade:

A-

Current Price:

$56.00USD

This is what is sometimes referred to as an "orange" wine. What that means is that it is fermented on its skins. The extended skin contact transfers some color to what is otherwise a white wine. It has other effects on the wines depending on the wine making process. Though this style of winemaking has been around for a long time, a small subsection or wine lovers and commentators discovered these wines about ten years ago and became enthralled with them. Like anything however, just because a wine is made in this style doesn't make them good or bad. This one, however, is very good. Th

2010 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage:

2010

Score:

Grade:

A+

Current Price:

$309.00USD

White Rhone wines can be so finicky, so when a friend opened this for his birthday, it was nice to see this was firing on all cylinders. Earlier in the day while reading a book about the White House and Wine, it mentioned that Thomas Jefferson referred to White Hermitage as France's greatest white wine, and this bottle gave that some credence. These wines are so unique when on that they are not for everyone. It doesn't seem fair to group with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc as they drink more like a red in that they are not crisp or refreshing or tart. This one is golden in color, clear a

2017 Domaine de la Côte Sainte-Epine St. Joseph Blanc Vieilles Vignes, France, Rhone, Wine Review

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2018 Domaine de la Côte Sainte-Epine St. Joseph Blanc Vieilles Vignes, France, Rhone, Wine Review

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2017 J.L. Chave Sélection St. Joseph Circa, France, Rhone, Wine Review

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