2021 Simon Gastrein Hameau Toucheboeuf Cuvée Jupiter Blanc

WINEMAKER: Simon Gastrein
REGION: Rhône Valley, FR
VARIETY: Viognier
VITICULTURE: Certified Organic/Biodynamic

15 days of skin contact for this mildly orange wine. A gourmet and round mouthfeel with notes of lemon, candied apricot, almond, honey and spices. Even if it’s rich, all the singularity of this wine is in its freshness. Simon has succeeded in exploiting the aromatic exuberance of Viognier with finesse, elegance and fluidity.

A chef by training, Simon Gastrein spent his youth in the vineyards and forged his palate with a wine-loving grandfather. Simon left, to live far away, in South America, before returning to train on the job and in the lands of André Perret. Settled since 2017 in Bessey, in this small clay and mineral corner of the Loire-sur-Rhone, he creates wines that resemble him: little fuss but not without manners.

In the slopes of Hameau Toucheboeuf, vines grow in the middle of wild grasses. Pesticide free. It is here, where the Rhone Valley meets the landscapes of the Pilat Natural Park, that Simon Gastrein grows the grapes for his wine as he builds his estate. Intuitively. Simply. By letting the terroir, the seasons and its fantasies express themselves freely, with the certainty that "nature does things well if we let it be generous".