The wine: La Nuit Blanche, Domaine Saint Rose, 2013, Cotes de Thongue
The details: 14% abv, cork, around £10
Date of pairing: Saturday 3rd June 2017
Roussanne is generally used in white Cotes-du-Rhone blends but, as this creation from Domaine Saint Rose testifies, it can really hold its own as a single varietal. I once read that Roussanne ages well but between about five and ten years old, it gets really flat and seems past its best, until you get to that magic ten years where it develops complexity beyond belief. I’ve never heard this anywhere else so I’m not sure how true this is, but my last remaining bottle of La Nuit Blanche will (with a bit of luck and patience) be kept until 2024.
Oak and bottle age really help develop the character of the grape beyond its ripe stone fruit flavours. Following an intense nose of honey, baked apple and buttered toast, the flavour profile almost works in reverse order than you’d expect. Initially, you’re hit with roasted almonds and a full, creamy mouthfeel, followed by that tempting apple pie, peaches and delicate blossom and left with a refreshing citrus zing at the end. Domaine Saint Rose’s Roussanne provides a very lengthy finish, with echoes of butter and nuts lingering for quite some time.
La Nuit Blanche translates as ‘the sleepless night’, referring to the endless hours of darkness spent by harvesters, collecting grapes at night when the temperature is cool enough so to preserve the freshness of the fruit. While initially, I thought Insomnia by Faithless might be too much of an obvious choice, drinking the wine along with the song really works well. They’re both intense, energetic and memorable and the song is a reminder of how grateful we should be to those sleep-deprived harvesters and winemakers for this glorious wine.














