Domaine Condamine Viognier 2016

It's a hot day, you're meandering through the picturesque streets of Nézignan-l'Evêque. A Citroen 2CV filled with fruit, preserves and wild flora trundles past you up the hill towards the market. The driver is a little French chap, you know the sort; onions, beret, cigarette and a stripy t-shirt.

Momentarily distracted by a passing beauty he doesn't notice the steepness of the incline and opens the boot with a flourish. Produce tumbles from the vehicle down the slope. You are buried in an avalanche of apricots, peaches, honey and flowers. That's what this wine tastes like!

This white varietal comes from Condrieu in the Northern Rhône. It gives a very fat and full wine with strong aromas of dry apricot and white peach.

Guy Bascou was the first winemaker to plant Viognier in the region in 1989. He started with 1,5ha and now has 4ha. The vineyard extends along the Vallée de l'Hérault and is given almost entirely to the production of "vins de cépage".

Domaine Condamine l'Evêque is a 40 ha property, bought in 1978 and run by Guy and Marie-Claude Bascou. Located in Nézignan-l'Evêque, a village set above the River Hérault between Sète and Béziers. Guy Bascou, an oenologist, was the head of the Institut Cooperatif du Vin in Beziers and was in charge of the management of the vineyard while Marie-Claude used to look after the vinification.