Per Èl 2010, Domaine Saladin & Filles, Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc | Britt’s Wine of the Month

This is a white wine from the southern Rhone Valley. It is delicious, rich and flavourful with intensity and concentration. I have a weakness for white Rhône wines, and this one did not disappoint me. The grape varieties are Clairette rose, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Bourboulenc. The grapes are harvested early in the morning while it is still cool outside. The natural yeast is used for the fermentation, which is long and at low temperature. Ageing on the lees with batonnage in stainless steel tanks.

Domaine Saladin is situated outside the village of Saint-Marcel-d’Ardèche on the west side of the Rhone. The estate is managed very ambitiously by sisters Marie-Laurence and Elizabeth. Read more: www.domaine-saladin.com.