Domaine de Fontbonau Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2023

This cuvée comes from the foothills of the Lance massif, in Montbrison-sur-Lez, in the Drôme provençale, in the southern part of the Rhône Valley. Classified as AOC Côtes du Rhône, the high-altitude vineyard, at around 350 metres, lies on calcareous sandstone soils with a predominantly sandy-silty texture, conducive to freshness and finesse.

The grapes are hand-harvested, sorted in the vineyard and then carried in small crates. Whole clusters are pneumatically pressed, before cold settling at around 10 °C and sulphur-free winemaking. Ageing combines high-fired clay amphorae and oak foudres; fermentation on the lees in amphora underlines the wine's roundness.

This wine reveals notes of pear, peach, apricot, honey, fresh almond, dried fruit, white flowers, acacia blossom and warm stone. The palate is supple and unctuous, with a delicately enveloping body balanced by taut, saline acidity. The harmonious, persistent finish extends the ripe fruit with a subtle, slightly oxidative nuance.

The cradle of wine culture in Western Europe, France owes its first vines to the Greeks of Phocaea, who settled around Marseille some twenty-six centuries ago, before the Romans spread viticulture along the Rhône and the Garonne and as far as Champagne. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian and Benedictine monks cleared the slopes of Burgundy and patiently mapped out the climats, laying the foundations of the notion of terroir. The 19th century brought the glory of the classifications, then the disaster of phylloxera, which wiped out the vineyards before they were rebuilt on American rootstocks; the creation of the appellations d'origine contrôlée in the 1930s then set the rules that would inspire the whole world. Today, France vies every year with Italy and Spain for first place in world production by volume and remains the ultimate benchmark of the Old World, as much for its age-worthy wines as for its winemaking models. Vineyards cover almost the entire country, from the cool north of Champagne and Alsace to the Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and Provence, by way of the oceanic climates of Bordeaux, the Loire and the South-West, continental Burgundy, the steep slopes of the northern Rhône and the high-altitude valleys of Savoie and the Jura. This mosaic of soils – limestone, schist, gravel or rounded pebbles – explains the extraordinary diversity of styles. As for grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate Bordeaux and produce structured reds, Pinot Noir is the signature of Burgundian finesse, Syrah of the depth of the Rhône, while Grenache, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Mourvèdre cover every register, from easy-drinking wines to wines for long ageing. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Riesling and Viognier offer expressions ranging from lively and mineral to unctuous, all the way to great sweet wines. A land of benchmarks and constant discoveries, France remains the compass for wine lovers the world over.