Domaine Stéphane Ogier : La Combe de Malleval 2019

Deep golden color. Lots of grilled pineapple on the nose. Tropically layered and ripe. Panettone with candied lemon peel. On the palate, plenty of marzipan and ethereal notes. Lots of oak, dark caramel, and intense bitter tones. Everything feels roasted and intensely concentrated. Powerful and alcohol-driven. A perfect pairing with Christstollen parfait. Mature and classic. An absolutely good mature wine for classic-style drinkers.

Flamboyant florals entwine with smoky notes on the complex, compelling nose of Ogier's 2019 Condrieu la Combe de Malleval. Backed by ripe apricot and pineapple notes, this medium- to full-bodied wine glides easily across the palate—rich and silky—into a long, refreshingly mineral finish. While this is ripe, it's not overdone, and it retains a welcome sense of stoniness without being at all austere.

Delicious, this white is really bright and fresh in feel, with a blitz of chamomile, honeysuckle, mirabelle plum, white peach and white apricot notes, supported by fine minerality on the finish. Drink now through 2023. 200 cases imported.

Lemon verbena and apricot. Soft, juicy, with a touch of apricot skin over green tea and white flowers. It’s opulent but not massive, with good depth of Condrieu character. A very good example of Condrieu in 2019, neither overly opulent nor weak in fruit. He will release the 2018 Vieilles Vignes de Jacques Vernay in 2022; he made it in 2019, but it won’t be available to taste until release. Partly from Malleval, partly from Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf. Two-thirds in Stockinger demi-muid. Malo blocked in 2019.

100% Viognier. Tasted blind. Tinned-peach-in-syrup aromas. Broad-shouldered and almost Sauternes-like honeyed, oily mouthfeel, moderate acidity and a rich, full, luscious finish. The acidity just holds this together. (AC)

The Condrieu is very straightforward, with notes of yellow fruits and a hint of vanilla. It frees itself from the varietal side of Viognier.