Domaine Pierre-Henri Morel Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc, France 2015 (£11.99, or £8.99 in a mixed case of six, Majestic) There is something about the white wines of the Rhône Valley that just fits with this time of the year. It’s there in the way the fruit flavours produced by the region’s favoured grape varieties – marsanne, roussanne, viognier – nod towards the orchard: ripe peaches, pears, apples and apricots. And it’s there in their pastel, soft-focus nature, like early-autumn late evening sunlight. Compared to a nervy Loire sauvignon or a steely chardonnay from Chablis, the Rhône’s whites are low in acid, soft and fleshy. Made with the help of the mercurial Michel Chapoutier, Domaine Pierre Henri Morel’s blend from the southern Rhône village of Laudun exemplifies all these qualities, adding freshening notes of fennel and white flowers.
Viñedos Organicos Emiliana Signos de Origen Chardonnay Viognier Marsanne Roussanne, Casablanca, Chile 2014 (£9.79, Rannoch Scott Wines) Historically the white Rhône blend may not have been as widely imitated as the region’s spicy red wines from syrah, grenache, mourvèdre and others. But it has grown increasingly popular in warmer climate regions around the world, with the Chileans among the most successful recent exponents. For sheer value, few wines made in this style anywhere can match Undurraga Cauquenes Estate Viognier Roussanne Marsanne 2015 (£6.95, The Wine Society), with its peach-down softness and peach flesh juiciness. And Emiliana’s easeful version may have chardonnay in the blend, but its billowing stone fruit and sweet floral and herbal fragrance, seasoned with a little oak, makes for a highly polished Rhône-alike.
Tahbilk Marsanne 2014 (from £10.49, Hard to Find Wines; Taurus Wines; Armit Wines) Elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, South African wine- makers have taken the white Rhône blend as a starting point, but by mixing in the tangy clarity of chenin blanc they’ve come up with a style that is very much its own thing. Cornelia White, Swartland 2015 (£10, M&S), where a generous portion of stone fruit is cut with Cox’s apple, is a fine place to start an exploration of the modern marvel that is the Cape white blend. The Australians also do a neat line in Rhône-inspired whites, often using single varieties. Two longstanding classics in this vein, as good today as they’ve ever been, are the abundantly peachy Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2015 (£9.99, Majestic; Morrisons) and the graceful honeysuckle and apricot-scented Tahbilk Marsanne.
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