Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc – Matt Walls Wine Blog

Olivier et Lafond

Matt — Sat, 22 Dec 2018 15:32:06 +0000

Five-year-old negociant business, a partnership between two winemaking consultants. Good freshness on the nose. Straighter on the palate than the 2017, not so broad. Keener, more focused. Similar phenolic style, still generous, just neater. Deliciously textural, food-friendly style of Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc.

Olivier et Lafond

Matt — Sat, 22 Dec 2018 15:25:38 +0000

Five-year-old negociant business, a partnership between two winemaking consultants. Pale in colour. Very much pear in aroma, touch of pear drop, fairly straightforward nose. Fairly full-bodied, broad and flowing, with adequate acidity and a phenolic aspect. Dry, voluptuous on the mid-palate, really came into its own with food. Nicely done – good concentration, slightly warming alcohol. Fairly long, quite textural style – soft and silky.

Château des Tours

Matt — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 18:58:48 +0000

Needs a brief decant, but then has intense honey aromas, beeswax. Followed up by honey flavour and some grapefruit marmalade, leading to a very dry, mineral, pithy finish with a bitter twist. Very distinctive, very grown-up. The most Old World wine imaginable.