Southern France
White Before Red
by Chris Santini
2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Télégramme”
France | Southern Rhône
At what age do you stop calling a kid a kid? At what age do you stop calling a young-vine cuvée a young-vine cuvée? Here at KLWM we’ve been referring to this cuvée as the Bruniers’ young-vine Châteauneuf for so long that those vines have gone and grown up right under our noses. Their average age is now well over forty. The style is adult and mature, a robust manifestation of fine tannins, dark fruit, and licorice that proves it no longer needs to sit at the kids’ table.
2021 Languedoc Blanc “Cuvée Sainte Agnès”
France | Languedoc-Roussillon
Here’s one of those white wines that leave you wishing the south of France had planted more white grapes back in the day. This cuvée is the sole blanc of the estate, production is tiny, and the wine is gone in a flash. The new vintage is freshly arrived, so grab your chance to enjoy its smooth, round, southern texture, with an herbal, verbena, white fruit expression that is tough not to love. Perfect with a light chill on its own, or with small bites, Sainte Agnès serves as the ideal segue before you reach for a rounder rouge.
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