2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc

This iconic Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate has long produced the region’s most iconic white wine, the highly complex and eminently cellar-worthy and collectible Roussanne Vieilles Vignes. The attention lavished on that great bottling has, I think, sometimes distracted attention away from the Perrin family’s outstanding “basic” white bottling, which must be counted among the best of the region. That’s especially the case over the last decade as the percentage of Roussanne in the blend has been steadily increasing, to the point where the 2016 version is based on 80% of the variety, with adjuncts of 15% Grenache Blanc and bits of Clairette, Bourboulenc and Picardan, Marc Perrin told me.