“Les Peyrouses”, Vin de France Blanc

From the vineyard of Les Peyrouses, a site just east of Cornas in which Gilles also owns 150-year-old Syrah, this cuvée comprises 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, from a third of a hectare’s worth of vines planted between 2009 and 2013. Its soils of sand, clay, and large pudding-stones render a white wine of formidable amplitude but excellent focus, given shape by a touch of appealing bitterness on the finish. This undergoes an eight-month élevage in a combination of 400-liter barrels (10% new) and steel, with malolactic fermentation finishing completely.