This is just my style when it comes to this Rhone white. This classic wine is fragrant with fresh nectarine, apricot, melon, spice, and honey aromas and flavors that are ripe and sweet tasting. But this dry wine is beautifully balanced with citrus and mineral notes. It makes a great choice as an aperitif or, as winemaker Christian Roguenant suggests, with crab cakes or stir-fried pork dishes. It’s powerful enough to stand up to such bigger Asian dishes as cashew chicken or curries. It’s available at the Edna Valley Baileyana/Tangent tasting room for $20 retail.
This article appears in Dec 10-17, 2009.