Guillaume Gonnet, "Le Rêveur" Côte du Rhône Blanc 2024

The Rhône, as with many other French regions, is feeling the demand for more white wine and is adapting its long traditions of very fine white wine making to more modern palates. This is a superb wine that treads both boards - it is traditional in its varietal makeup but is executed with freshness, vitality and sheer drinking pleasure to the forefront of every glass. 

Fruit notes of apple and pear lead to melon and mango sit on a core of grapefruit and bright citrus zing. This is medium bodied white but is balanced because of the wonderful acidity and the flavours and character of the varieties that form it. Delightful on its own it is wonderful with a wide range of food, though the Gonnets think it's at its best with poultry, lighter game, seafood and, dare we say it, chips and dips...

A blend of 40% Viognier and 30% each of Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, this is a wine rooted deep in the traditions of very fine white Rhône winemaking. Taken from sandy soils from vines grown at relative altitude on terraced vineyards, the grapes are destemmed and fermented in stainless steel tanks, with no malolactic fermentation and a relatively short period of ageing, all done in order to best preserve youthful vitality, vibrancy and juicy freshness.

Guillaume Gonnet is a third-generation winemaker and still runs the Domaine Gonnet properties with his parents. In 2006 he set about creating "Guillaume Gonnet, Vigneron" with his Australian wife, Kelly. She was fascinated by the differing practices that existed in Australia and France regarding the sourcing and purchasing of grapes. In France, it was not such a thing to celebrate and could be met with suspicion, whereas it was a mark of honour to be able to name prestigious sites as the source of your wine in Australia! In short, she and Guillaume established a winery that was based on the Australian model so as to be able to broaden their offering and work with growers on a long-term basis, involving themselves with the planting and harvesting of the grapes that they were then contracting to buy. It has been a brilliant model and has been outworked with much success as many generously made wines are appearing from a wide range of appellations that many other Domaines cannot offer. It's not at all to say that Domaine wines aren't wonderful, but more to say that there is another way available if you are willing to put the work in: the rewards are that a spirit of adventure is heartily filled in this sun-drenched (albeit windy!) part of the Rhône Valley.

The couple met in Australia where Guillaume was working as a travelling winemaker, having worked previously in Napa, Bordeaux, Burgundy and New Zealand. Such travels are bound to bring up the study of terroir and it is this point that excited him on his return to the Rhône - these historically established grapes respond with remarkable difference according to the soils in which they are planted and the micro-climatic influences to which they are subject. It's a fascinating study and, because he's not bound to his on estate in these projects, he can source according to terroir wherever he goes! All farmed organically and using biodynamic principals, these are plots that deliver incredibly high quality grapes from across the region, including Tavel, Vacqueyras, Cairanne and Gigondas.

The Robin: he's not often on bottles of wine, because he's only really ever seen in organic vineyards; plus he's the symbol of a dreamer - these two characteristics are clearly evident in Guillaume and he's delighted to have the Robin on the label of each of his wines.