Winemaker Notes
Gold with green hints. Aromas of white and yellow fruits - peach, apricot, pear, citrus fruits, verbena, acacia. The palate is round, fruity, complex and elegant, with a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2021 Lirac Blanc, one of those whites that truly over-delivers. Beautiful notes of pear, white flowers, citrus, and some salty, mineral-like nuances define this beauty, and it's medium-bodied, with terrific balance, integrated acidity, and a great, great finish. Bravo. Drink this over the coming 2-4 years.
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James Suckling
Brimming with stone-fruit aromas with a touch of mango, this is a rich but very clean and crisp dry white from the Southern Rhone. Good concentration and a touch of positive tannin help it carry the generous body and 14.5% alcohol.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Only 10% of the 2021 Lirac Blanc La Reine des Bois spent time in oak, resulting in the faintest toasty notes, while allowing the pear and white peach fruit to shine through. It's medium-bodied, fresh and zesty, but it still retains an attractively silky texture and ample length.
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.
A larger region between Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Tavel, Lirac red wines resemble some of the best Cotes du Rhone Villages wines, while it’s rosés are akin to those of Tavel. The region’s quality whites, based on Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne, are round and fruit-driven.