2008 Mas Carlot Marsanne Roussanne, Costières de Nîmes, France

I love, love, love this wine. It's bright and fresh and has some body to it. A balanced wine that's fun to sip with your friends but also incredible with food. I recently paired this with a recipe by David Chang: Spicy Brussels Sprouts with Mint and it was amazing! It expertly handled all the flavors. Yum!!

Kacher wrote: "Constructed around the seventeenth century, this old Provençal Mas was brought back to life by the Blanc family, who purchased the estate in the Sixties. Located on the western edge of the Rhône River, in the village of Bellegarde, southeast of the city of Nîmes, the vineyards are in the heart of the appellation’s cailloux-based soil. In the old Provençal dialect, “Mas” means farm, and Nathalie Blanc-Marès is beautifully managing this 75 hectares farm with the aid of her husband Cyril Marès, owner of the neighboring property Mas des Bressades (yes, she married the boy-next-door). They are a great Provençal family - young and energetic with great vision and talent. The vineyards were planted in the 1950’s and 1960’s to the current varietals. The vines are trained using a system called Cordon de Royat, which helps maintain lower fruit production. Mas Carlot limits yields to around 45hl/ha, which is one-third below what the appellation allows. Nathalie likes to wait during harvest - picking late to obtain the maximum maturity for each grape varietal. Mas Carlot has 20 hectares planted to white varietals. The Marsanne-Roussanne is made of 50% Marsanne from 25 year-old vines and 50% Roussanne. The wine is aged sur lie in tank after fermentation. This wine reveals abundant quantities of minerals, orange blossom, pineapple and citrus presented in a medium-bodied, fresh, lively style."