Les Anthenors Blanc, Jean Luc Colombo, 2018

Les Anthenors Blanc, Jean Luc Colombo, IGP Méditerranée, Rhône, France, 2018 

Grapes: 100% Clairette, organic, oak aged

The vines of Les Anthenors are planted on chalky-clay soils from the “Vallon de Champs Fleuri.” This Organic parcel is located in the village of Sausset-les-Pins on the Blue Coast (West of Marseille, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Lake of Berre). From the top of the white hill over looking the Mediterranean Sea, the vines grow in the middle of cypresses, olive trees and “garrigue”(scrubland). Fresh aromas of fennel and citrus, round and elegant at the same time. The grapes are hand-picked before the wine is vinified in oak barrels with a slow fermentation. Les Anthenors is then left on its lees and stirred for the first few months before it is aged in oak barrels for 12 months.

Golden yellow colour with green nuances. An aromatic and delicate nose offering fresh aromas of fennel, garrigue and citrus. The palate is crisp and supple, the mouth is showing rare minerality sustained by lemony and slightly spicy notes.

Pairs beautifully with baked sea bass or a carpaccio of sea bream. Wonderful enjoyed with a bouillabaisse and the Provençale cuisine from Jean-Luc Colombo’s childhood. To be drunk in its youth or within 4 to 5 years.

"The 2018 IGP Mediterranee Les Anthenors Clairette includes a bit of Clairette Rose for the first time, as those vines were planted in 2015. The rest of the vines date to 2009. It's an intense, barrel-fermented wine that could age well past what I've suggested, but I figure to be conservative until the wine has more of a track record. Round and ripe, it boasts lovely white peach aromas and flavors accented by white pepper notes. It's medium to full-bodied, yet the spice elements keep it lively and focused on the finish."  

91+/100 points Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate, December 2019.