Featured Wine: Patrice Rion Bourgogne Blanc

Patrice Rion is one of the most innovative producers in Burgundy. He was one of the first to train his vines higher than the Burgundy standard, to increase the canopy without shading the grapes, giving better ripening and colour. He is also frequently an innovator in the cellar and offers some wines (Bourgogne Bon Batons, white wines, half bottles) in stelvin screwcaps. Patrice Rion produces balanced wines, and does not believe that the “maximum” is the “optimum,” particularly when it comes to extracting phenolics, tannins, color…He strives for clear, precise, and complex wines, with good fruit. Some vintages are best with food, some for tasting, but each wine has its own characteristics.

Our pick this week was the 2014 Bourgogne Blanc. This White Burgundy is versatile and wonderful with food. Its liveliness makes it a great aperitif wine, while its aromatic range and persistence will make it a star with fish, shellfish and seafood. Priced well under $35 a bottle this wine is bound to become a staple in your cellar and your new go-to white.

2014 Patrice Rion Bourgogne Blanc

93+ POINTS! Our white Burgundy has a crystal clear, limpid appearance, frequently with green tints. This wine shows in its youth white flowers, lilies and ferns, which evolve into notes of hazelnut. As it ages, the wine shows honeyed, sometimes buttery accents, with additional aromas of spice and sugared chestnuts, and often mentholated fruits. The wine is round at the beginning, but its clear acidity gives it a tension that leads to a beautiful mineral finish.

Did you miss last week’s featured wine?