2022 St Péray, Ongrie, Alain Voge, Rhône

Marsanne is the predominant white grape variety grown in the Northern Rhône where it is used to produce white St. Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, and Hermitage. It is a tricky grape to cultivate, being susceptible to diseases and being particularly sensitive to extreme climatic changes - if growing conditions are too cool, then it fails to ripen fully and produces thin, insipid wines, while, if too hot, the resultant wines are blowsy, overblown and out of balance.

Alain Voge is one of the famous names in Cornas. The domaine rose to prominence when Alain joined his father’s smallholding in the late 1950s, moving it from polyculture to focusing exclusively on wine. He became the Cornas appellation’s greatest advocate, championing its reputation internationally as well as at home. Until his death in ’20, he was regarded as the godfather of this portion of the Rhône.