One of the finest white Chateauneufs I have ever tasted from Pierre Usseglio is their 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape blanc. Composed of 60% Grenache Blanc, 35% Clairette and 5% Bourboulenc, it was aged in old barrels (70%) and steel tanks (30%). There are only 3,000 bottles produced of this nectarine, mango, honeysuckle and quince-scented and flavored white wine. Rich, medium to full-bodied, crisp, fleshy and dry, it can be enjoyed over the next 1-2 years.
One of my favorite stops on my trips to the southern Rhone is at Domaine Pierre Usseglio where brothers Jean-Pierre and Thierry Usseglio have accomplished special things. A new state-of-the-art tasting room has been added, somewhat unusual in Chateauneuf du Pape where little has changed in the three decades I have been tasting there. However, the small, discrete Usseglio tasting room would never be compared with tasting rooms that exist in Bordeaux and California.
Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173