2016 Cotes du Rhone Guy Louis

While I don’t know the final retail price, I’m sure the 2016 Côtes du Rhône Blanc Guy Louis will be a good value. Possessing additional richness and depth as well as notes of white peach, tangerine and citrus blossom, with a kiss of toasty oak, it’s clean, focused, and layered on the palate with both richness and freshness. I tasted six whites from Tardieu-Laurent, all of which were noteworthy, and this estate’s relatively modern, yet clean, pure style always produced a terrific white I’d be happy to drink.

The plump, medium-bodied 2016 Cotes du Rhone Guy Louis Blanc starts with bright pineapple fruit, but it also reveals bitter notes of grapefruit pith and a distinct lack of richness and texture.

35% Grenache Blanc (70 years old), 25% Clairette (30 years old ), 25% Marsanne (60 years old), 15% Viognier (40 years old). Terroir: 33% north, 66% south. Ageing: eight months in new, on-e and two-year-old barrels (Allier – Tronçais). Much more Clairette – from Châteauneuf – than usual. Pale straw. Intense honeysuckle and much less advanced than the white Becs Fins. Round, satiny texture with much more depth than the Becs Fins. Interesting wine that would probably stand comparison with a few of the lighter white Châteauneufs. Quite a life ahead of it. (JR)