Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Chateau de la Negly La Clape La Brise Marine Blanc is a brilliant color. The nose pairs aromas of exotic fruits and white peach with notes of fresh almond. The lively palate is powerful and full bodied. A mineral note accentuates its complexity. Ideal served chilled with a Mediterranean tuna tartare.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A 50-50 blend of Bourboulenc (from 50-year-old vines) and Roussanne, the 2018 La Clape La Brise Marine Blanc is a fine effort. Understated aromas of melon and lime give way to a vibrant, medium-bodied palate that's fresh and electric on the long finish, with bright acidity and briny notes coming together in a tongue-tingling finale.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 La Clape Brise Marine Blanc is equal parts Bourboulenc and Roussanne that was brought up all in tank. It has vibrant notes of white flowers, salty citrus, and a kiss of minerality to go with a clean, beautifully balanced, refreshing style on the palate. It’s great today, but I suspect it will keep for 4-5 years, if not longer.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Essentially a mountain on France’s Mediterranean coast, La Clape's vineyards vary in elevation by as much as nearly 1,000 feet. This tiny region also boasts some of France’s highest total hours of sunshine and produces aromatic whites from the Bourboulenc variety as well as full-bodied red blends from the usual Rhône suspects.