Vacqueyras blanc AOC 2021 1500ml Magnum

A white Vacqueyras that doesn't deliver on the palate the fruity promise of its nose, but translates it into structure instead. Pale straw yellow with vivid highlights, then discipline, drive and a saline finish. Anyone who thinks white Rhône wines are broad and soft will find the opposite here.

Domaine d'Ouréa sits at 520 metres in the Vaucluse, with views of Mont Ventoux and the Dentelles de Montmirail. In 2009, Adrien Roustan took over part of his grandfather Raymond Bertrand's vineyard, and today farms 20 hectares in Vacqueyras and Gigondas. The estate has been certified organic since 2012, with the switch to biodynamic farming following in 2020. The grapes for this white wine grow on a tiny 0.30-hectare parcel planted by Adrien Roustan in 2011: an east-facing slope of blue and yellow clay. Cool nights at this altitude keep the acidity alive.

80 percent Clairette, 20 percent Bourboulenc. Hand-harvested, whole-cluster pressing with stems, alcoholic fermentation with house yeasts. This is followed by six months of ageing in concrete tank, without oak. No oenological additives, and only homeopathic sulphuring.

The nose offers fully ripe pear, quince and Charentais melon, with green mandarin and orange blossom, spiced with fennel, anise and chervil, framed by floral notes of jasmine and boxwood. On the palate, the spice of the garrigue takes over: bay leaf, wild thyme, olive leaves. Cool minerality and a saline finish carry the taut flow through to the end.

Confit rabbit with herbs of Provence, lemon zest and a small baby artichoke salad, ribollita with seafood, or cassoulet of beans and potatoes with savory and black olives.

A white wine from an appellation known chiefly for its reds, here from a single small parcel and in magnum format.