Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Ogier Artesis Cotes du Rhone Blanc is light and crystalline, very pure with discreet green reflections. A rich and complex nose expressing the plurality of grape varieties. Exotic and citrus fruits blend with apricot and white peach with floral notes and white pepper. The mouth balances the expression of the fruit, the freshness and the roundness typical of our southern Côtes-du-Rhone. The delicate touch of bitterness in the final brings an extra dimension to the tasting, the touch!
This wine perfectly accompanies seafood dishes (scallops, shrimps, prawns, fresh line fish) with herbs (sage, tarragon) or roasted chicken.
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.
Typically thought of as a baby Chateâuneuf-du-Pape, the term Côtes du Rhône actually doesn’t merely apply to the flatter outskirts of the major southern Rhône appellations, it also includes the fringes of well-respected northern Rhône appellations. White wines can be produced under the appellation name, but very little is actually made.
The region offers some of the best values in France and even some first-rate and age-worthy reds. Red wine varieties include most of the Chateâuneuf-du-Pape varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Counoise, as well as Carignan. White grapes grown include Grenache blanc, Roussanne and Viognier, among others.