2020 Eric Texier Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc VV

We see a lot more Chateauneuf du Pape rouge than we do blanc in the US but the whites can be every bit as good as the reds.  Case in point Texier's lovely 2020 CdP Blanc. This is a 50/50 Bourbolenc Clairette blend that Eric buys every year from a friend in the village.  The farming is organic, planted in a mix of limestone and clay with 50 year-old head trained vines. The grapes are fermented and aged in neutral oak for 16-20 months depending on the vintage.  When I tasted this vintage for the first time I started laughing it was so good. Lean and mineral with plenty of acidity, the fruit here tends to be ripe orchard fruit with some white peach.  Aromatically it has quite a bit of depth with notes of hay and wild flower.  Frankly its pretty fucking delicious!  It would be great with richer seafood dishes, roast chicken, Squash or better yet fried squash blossoms. - Andy Paynter

Éric Texier became a winemaker after a prior career and without any background in vines or wines. As such, his methods developed not from years of schooling, but from his readings, his visiting winemakers around the world, and working in Burgundy with Jean-Marie Guffens at Verget. After giving up the idea of buying vineyards, which was too costly a proposition for a beginner with his ambitions, he started a small negoce where he selected interesting vineyard plots from hard-working farmers who grew the healthy grapes he wanted to buy and vinify.

He re-discovered nearly forgotten areas of ancient fame, like Breze`me in the northern Cotes-du-Rhone and the new St.-Julien en St.-Alban, a heretofore unknown plot of ancient Syrah vines on the west bank of the Rhone that had been tended by protestant monks and has never seen artificial fertilizers or pesticides. The wines are vinified in their areas of production, and when they have obtained their AOC, the young wines are transported to Charnay-en-Beaujolais, just north of Lyon, where Eric lives and has recently acquired a wonderful elevage cellar. Exact steps in vinification vary according to the varietals, terroirs and vintages, but the goal is always to provide the grapes, musts and wines with the best environment and intervene as little as possible.