Floral aromas with a touch of citrus and herbaceous notes. It has a slight hint of the garrigue - a French wilderness character.
Saint-Péray is a small area in the Rhone Valley and not so well known. Vidal Fleury is one of the oldest houses in the Côtes-du-Rhône and so when they turn their attention to this small AOC we are right to be intrigued. The last wine I tasted from here was a few years ago made by Laure Colombo and that left a pleasant memory.
I am told that the new director, Antoine Dupré, aims to modernise the wines and this Saint Péray, made from 100% Marsanne, has bags of style and charm. What it gives up in terms of freshness, it makes up in terms of richness.
The stirring of the lees (batonage), combined with 30% aged in oak barrel, adds to the layers of flavour that start off subtly at the point of pouring but open up very well into something round, softer, and succulent. With the extra body I would happily enjoy this with a seafood linguini or vongole, or even a spicier dish with pulses, Moroccan perhaps?
As I said before, this is a largely unknown small area in the Rhone but one worth discovering. Go forth…
Location of Saint-Péray on the Rhone River:
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Evolution by Rhed |
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