Marlène & Nicolas Chevalier Les Pends Marsanne 2018 Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône, France 75cl

The Chevalier family works a series of tiny plots across Crozes-Hermitage, making red and white wines in small lots that each reflect their site. Their whites draw on the two traditional grapes of the appellation, Marsanne and Roussanne, farmed across parcels of contrasting soils.

Les Pends is pure Marsanne, planted on granite-based soils on the slope between Chanos-Curson and Mercurol. Marsanne gives a broad, gently floral white, and the granite here lends a firmer, more mineral edge than the estate’s limestone parcels, so the wine feels defined rather than heavy.

The 2018 season was warm across the northern Rhône, producing ripe, rounded whites. The vintage suits Marsanne’s fuller style, while the granite soils help keep the wine fresh and precise, balancing the ripeness of the year.

Look for quince, white flowers and orchard fruit with a mineral-driven, textural finish. It is a dry white with quiet depth rather than obvious aromatics, and it fills out with a little air, so serve it cool rather than icy.

For drinkers who enjoy low-aromatic, food-friendly whites, Marsanne from Crozes-Hermitage is a rewarding find, and a gentle step away from the usual Sauvignon or Chardonnay. The granite gives it a firmness that helps it hold its own against food, so it is more of a mealtime white than an aperitif. Marsanne of this kind rewards a slightly larger glass and a cool cellar temperature, letting its quiet aromatics build gradually, and it is best drunk over the next couple of years while that gentle freshness lasts. Serve it with white fish, roast poultry or lightly spiced dishes.