Winemaker Notes
Nostre Païs, our “Our Land” is Michel Gassier’s attempt at capturing what makes the Costières de Nîmes unique in the Rhône valley. Here white varieties thrive due to the thermal breezes from Mediterranean as well as the cooling winds from the Massif Central. Michel Gassier makes a point of harvesting his whites just before the peak of maturity to preserve the natural acidity in the grapes. To balance the acidity he ferments half of this cuvée in neutral French oak barrels.
Blend: 45% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne, 10% Clairette, 10% Viognier, 5% Bourboulenc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
As always, the 2017 Costières de Nîmes Nostre Païs shines for its purity and finesse. Made from 45% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne, and the rest Clairette, Viognier, and Bourboulenc, it offers abundant notes of white peaches, orange zest, and honeysuckle. With medium body, a bright, vibrant, balanced texture, and building richness, it’s going to be versatile on the dinner table and drink nicely for 3-4 years, possibly longer.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Michel Gassier's whites continue to impress for their ripe textures, fruit expression and cleanliness. The 2017 Costieres de Nimes Blanc Nostre Pais is a blend of 45% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne, 10% each Clairette and Viognier and 5% Bourboulenc. Half of the blend was barrel-fermented in 500-liter oak. Honeyed tangerines give a plump, fleshy sensation on the palate without being soft or cloying. It's creamy and lush but balanced for immediate enjoyment.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh, featuring pear, yellow apple, melon and jasmine notes streaming through together, with a flash of lemon shortbread on the enticing finish. Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Viognier and Bourboulenc.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fresh pear and quince notes are layered in savory tones of graphite, smoke and tobacco leaf in this savory, boldly structured wine. While rich and weighty on the palate, it's balanced neatly by fresh acidity and a slightly phenolic finish.
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.
Gently rolling hills covered by large, round stones on south-facing slopes, Costieres de Nimes is a substantial IGP zone that was formerly considered part of the Languedoc. Today it is included as a section of the southern Rhone; its climate, topography and wines put it more in line with that appellation. Grenache is its most important red variety, along with Mourvedre, Syrah and Carignan. Half of the production here is rosé.