2023 Xavier Gerard, Condrieu Blanc, Cote Chatillon

For all Condrieu lovers, the 2023 Condrieu Blanc, Côte-Châtillon is a brilliantly focused wine. The profile opens with decadent apricot fruit, tart quince, and vibrant tangerine. On the palate, it delivers the typicity of Viognier from Condrieu: power and viscosity, yet remaining astonishingly lifted. It tingles and dances across the tongue with eye-widening energy, managing to be completely ripe without a trace of flabbiness. It achieves that rare, almost paradoxical feat of feeling both intensely concentrated and elegantly weightless.