93 Château La Nerthe 2018 Clos de Beauvenir White (Châteauneuf-du-Pape). Kobrand. Cellar Selection.
abv: 13.5% Price: $136
95 Château de Saint Cosme 2019 Condrieu. Winebow Imports. Editors’ Choice.
abv: 15% Price: $100
Whether Côtes du Rhône or Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Saint-Joseph or Hermitage, the appellations of the Rhône Valley are best known for red wines. Yet there’s a long, illustrious history of white wine production in the region, too.
One of the earliest American champions of Rhône whites was Thomas Jefferson. In the late 18th century, soon after his return from France, he wrote authoritatively about Hermitage to a Philadelphia wine merchant.
“The red is not very highly esteemed, but the White is the first wine in the world without a single exception,” he declared. Unfortunately, “there is so little of the White made that it is difficult to buy it.”
As then, white wines of the Rhône Valley are still marginal in volume, comprising less than 10%
