Winemaker Notes
Golden white with bright reflections. Complex nose mixing aromas of white flowers and exotic fruits (pineapple) and spices (safran, curry). The wine is ample and round on the palate. Rich and balanced at the same time, with a good freshness, saltiness, and a powerful aromatic intensity.
Blend: 80% Roussanne, 20% Clairette
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A smaller production cuvée made from 80% Roussanne and 20% Clairette that was fermented and aged in oak, the 2019 Ventoux Quintessence Blanc is a deeper, richer wine, with beautiful notes of buttered stone fruits, white flowers, toasted spice, and a touch of earthy garrigue. Beautiful on the palate as well, it’s medium to full-bodied and has plenty of mid-palate depth followed by a great finish. It’s drinking nicely today, yet as with a number of whites from this terrific estate, it’s going to age gracefully as well, and I wouldn’t put a solid decade or more of prime drinking past it.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 80% Roussanne (fermented and matured in demi-muids) and 20% Clairette (fermented and matured in tank), the 2019 Ventoux Quintessence Blanc comes across as a bit tight, taut and oaky—it appears to need some time to relax and allow the pineapple, pear and white peach notes to come through. It's medium-bodied and silky, with the potential to drink well for up to five years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Composed of 80% Roussanne and 20% Clairette, this fresh, green-apple sip balances the bright yellow pear and chamomile notes of Roussanne against the zest and mineral edge of Clairette. Dry and accented by tangs of salt, it's a refreshing white best enjoyed now–2026.
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.
Stretching across the slopes of the Ventoux mountain in the southeastern region of the Rhône River Valley, Cotes du Ventoux excels in the production of spicy and characterful red blends based on Grenache, Syrah, and other indigenous varieties. The region also produces rich and aromatic whites and rosés.