Éric Texier Adèle Blanc 2023, Vin de France, Rhône, Natural Wine, Organic

Adèle is a natural white from Éric Texier, the former nuclear engineer who revived the forgotten Brézème vineyards of the northern Rhône. It is made almost entirely from Clairette, with a small touch of Marsanne, from organically farmed vines on warm granite soils in the Ardèche, on the right bank of the Rhône around Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban. The grapes are hand-harvested and pressed as whole bunches, then the juice settles naturally and ferments spontaneously with native yeasts in concrete tanks. The wine rests on its lees for six to eight months, sees no oak, has no sulphur added before bottling and is unfined.

In the glass it is a pale straw colour with green glints. The nose is subtle and floral, with apple, white peach, citrus peel, a hint of jasmine and dried herbs, and a light mineral note. The palate is fresh and lively from the Clairette, with a gentle roundness from the Marsanne, a silky texture, a touch of anise and a clean, stony, dry finish.

Serve chilled but not too cold, at around 10–12°C. It makes a lovely aperitif with hard cheeses and pairs well with oysters, shellfish and seafood, grilled sea bass with fennel, chicken with preserved lemon and goat’s cheese salads. Adèle is best enjoyed young and fresh, within a few years of the vintage.

Éric Texier was born in Bordeaux and worked as a nuclear engineer before leaving that career in 1992 to study winemaking. He trained with Jean-Marie Guffens at Verget in the Mâconnais and made wines from growers’ fruit before buying vines, with the help of François Pouchoulin, in Brézème, a small enclave at the southern edge of the northern Rhône. Texier had read in an 1880 book on the great terroirs of France that Brézème Syrah was once among the most prized, yet by 1961 just one hectare remained; today he is its leading grower. With his wife Laurence he farms vineyards on both banks of the Rhône, in Brézème and in the Ardèche around Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban. The vines have been farmed organically from the start, certified by Ecocert, and the winemaking uses native yeasts and little or no sulphur.