Hermitage Blanc Chante Alouette, Maison M. Chapoutier 2023

The 2023 Hermitage Chante-Alouette is lovely, unfurling from the glass with a ripe bouquet of pear, flowers, spices, curry leaf and herbs. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it's pure and seamless, with a fleshy core of fruit and vibrant acidity for a Hermitage, culminating in a long, saline finish. Crafted from vines planted on loess, clay and granite at the bottom of the hill, 15% of the wine matured in stainless steel, and the rest matured in foudres from cooper Rousseau and large barrels, 10% of which are new.