Domaine Saint Amant Cotes du Rhone La Borry 2019

One wine that I’m sure we will be serving along side the lobster rolls will be Domaine Saint Amant’s wildly expressive Côtes du Rhône-Viognier, La Borry. It’s a Nicholas Wines fan-favorite, one of the best wines for summer drinking and is among the most reordered wines each year. Its exotic bouquet, anise-tinged fruit and fresh acidity make this wine the perfect deck-side aperitif or any fish’s best friend. It’s a no-brainer on any summer day, but don’t delay because there are precious few bottles to go around.

This white wine is a treasure, a real rarity in that it is made from Viognier, an intensely aromatic grape variety best known in the tiny hamlet of Condrieu. Condrieu is frightfully expensive; its terrassed vineyards are hard to work and the vine yields a tiny amount of grapes. Most of Condrieu is north of $100 retail. I’m convinced there are like 7 Dutch guys in the world that buy 99% of the world’s supply. That being said, they can be some of the greatest white wines in the world. Which is what makes Saint Amant an amazing find. It is a 13 hectare estate, precariously planted at 500 meters in elevation, in the humble village of Beaumes de Venise. The high elevation and mineral soil provide ideal conditions for aromatic and elegant Viognier. For $100 Condrieu, this is what I would expect. For $18 Cotes du Rhone, forget it, as rare as you know what!