Condrieu, Coteau de Chery, 2010

The 2010 will be a blend of barrel aged wine, with less than a quarter new oak, and this year some wine has been aged in steel tank to provide some additional freshness to the final blend. Flowery, violet-scented as ever, perhaps fuller and even more powerful than usual but with a crisp seam of acidity to balance. This offers notes of citrus oil and zest, nectarine, apricot and Mirabelle with a savoury dry stone character to a long, haunting finish. The Chery vineyard boasts very pure soft granite soils that enable the roots to go deep, which stand the vines in particularly good stead during heat waves and result in wines of strong mineral character. It is one of the great vineyards of Condrieu.