Christophe Blanc Viognier 'Les Galets' 2020

Living on the vertiginous terraced slopes of St-Michel-sur-Rhône, literally 50m away from his vines, Christophe Blanc knows more than most about Viognier. These prime granitic-limestone hillsides offer high levels of minerals and salts, while the relatively young vines lend more acidity, which allows Christophe to obtain added levels of complexity from partially botrytised fruit. 

Bottled with less than half the usual levels of sulphur used in the appellation, wines are aged in a cave underneath his house. Offering extraordinary value – leagues above its simple ‘Vin de France’ moniker – ‘Les Galets’ shows notes of fresh peach and pear skin and a marked granite-induced salinity on the finish. Top-tier ‘baby’ Condrieu.