Hervé Souhaut Romaneaux Destezet Blanc 2023

Domaine Romaneaux is the Ardèche estate of Hervé Souhaut, who trained in biology before settling in the northern Rhône in the 1990s and learning natural winemaking alongside René Jean Dard and François Ribo. Romaneaux Destezet Blanc is a blend of Roussanne and Viognier, two Rhône whites that bring stone fruit, floral perfume and a rich, textured palate. The vines are farmed biodynamically on the granite and schist soils of the Ardèche hills, where free-draining rock and warm days give ripeness while cooler nights preserve aromatic lift. The wine is made with minimal intervention and aged twelve months on its lees. That long contact with the spent yeast, in a natural cellar with little added sulphur, builds a broad, savoury texture and a fine roundness beneath the fruit. The colour is bright straw. The nose is floral and expressive, with white peach, apricot and white flowers over a light honeyed note. The palate is round and dry, the ripe stone fruit and gentle almond edge framed by fresh acidity and a mineral, faintly saline finish. Serve at 11 to 12 degrees.