Clairette – Matt Walls Wine Blog

Olivier et Lafond

Matt — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 09:48:16 +0000

Five-year-old negociant business, a partnership between two winemaking consultants. 100% Clairette. Pale in colour. Medium-bodied, good freshness and drinkability, a fine mineral seam and lifted finish. Touch of citrus pith and almond. Fairly long for a Ventoux. It’s fairly simple in fruit, but very well balanced and drinkable. A good rich aperitif option.

Olivier et Lafond

Matt — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 09:38:57 +0000

100% Old vine Clairette. Aromatically quite straightforward, with fresh floral notes and dried pear. Medium- to full-bodied, a pleasant gentle bitterness on the finish, good freshness and fruit and a fairly long finish. Broad but not gloopy, well balanced, fresh, good balancing acidity. No overt oak influence or unbalanced alcohol.

Domaine des Tours

Matt — Sat, 22 Dec 2018 18:58:33 +0000

Current vintage ex-domaine in late 2018. Taking on a uniform pale, copper-gold colour. Linden, subtle pear skin scent. Full-bodied, with some internal sweetness of fruit and honey flavour, ending dry, mineral, with some aniseed. Fairly long, very well-balanced with a firm acid line. Really interesting wine, classic Rhône Clairette, more one to intrigue than one to love. Absurdly good value at less than £15.