2020 Cotes du Rhone Parallele 45 Blanc

Mostly Grenache Blanc with 10% Viognier, the 2020 Côtes Du Rhône Parallele 45 Blanc is impeccably made, offering medium-bodied aromas and flavors of tart peach, white flowers, and a kiss of minerality, which is way more than you’d expect from a wine that sells at this price. Pure, nicely balanced, and well worth drinking, it should keep for a year or two. While the wheels haven’t come completely off at this estate, there’s a significant drop in terms of quality starting with the 2019s and continuing with the 2020s. Whether this is simply COVID related or indicative of a larger issue is yet to be determined. To be sure, the wines are still well-made, but to have access to some of the greatest terroirs in the world and to be producing mid-weight, lean wines is disappointing to say the least.