Bonny Doon Le Cigare Blanc 2004

From what far-flung, telic appellation might be dispatched a white cigar? Le Cigare Blanc is the white analogue of Le Cigare Volant, The Flying Cigar, our flagship named in honor of the cigar-shaped alien craft, banned by decree of the village council of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1954 from landing in the vineyards thereof. Le Blanc completes the triad of Cigares first sighted in the form Le Cigare Volant and Vin Gris de Cigare. Le Cigare Blanc is inspired by several of the luxes cuvées of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc dominated by roussanne, which contributes 97% of this blend. We have supplemented the roussanne with a small but dramatic and richly flavored 3% dollop of Grenache blanc.

The wine is intensely suggestive of white peach, honeydew, lime blossom, lilac and the stony minerality contributed by an exceedingly far-off hillside