2018 Condrieu La Bonnette
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Tasting notes
Glistening straw color. Potent, mineral-accented aromas of pear nectar and orange pith are complicated by a floral accent that gains strength with aeration. Seamless and expansive in the mouth, displaying impressive focus to its lively citrus and orchard fruit flavors. Delivers a suave blend of richness and finesse finishing with strong mineral cut and emphatic, floral-driven persistence.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A wine you don’t see often enough, the 2018 Condrieu La Bonnette is terrific, with a medium-bodied, seamless texture as well as textbook Condrieu notes of tangerine, citrus zest, brioche, and white flowers. It has plenty of freshness, yet shows the soft, plush style of the vintage. Drink it over the coming 2-3 years. This was another power-packed lineup from the Rostaing Family, and you can’t go wrong with any of these new releases. The 2017s show the sunny yet also elegant style of the vintage and have beautifully polished, ripe tannins. These wines offer pleasure even today but do your best to give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age, especially the single vineyard releases. Looking at the 2018s, these are largely in the same style yet have slightly more concentrated, structured profiles. My money is on the 2018s requiring slightly more bottle age, but I’ll report on those from bottle this time next year. In addition to the Côte Rôties, don’t miss a chance to try the Languedoc and Collines Rhodaniennes releases. Both represent terrific wines as well as value.
100% Viognier. No MLF in 2018. Fuller and thicker than their Lézardes, with typical Condrieu opulence and flesh. (RH)