2018 Domaine de Piaugier Côtes-du-Rhone Villages-Sablet Blanc 750 ml

Textured, rich, and beautiful, its power and complexity of the 2018 Domaine de Piaugier wowed us from the first sip, delivering the elegance and power we expect from Chardonnays or white blends twice the price.

Grown in a little-known hamlet a stone’s throw from Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s hallowed terroir, this is a dynamite value that will have your guests thinking you shelled out the big bucks when this $23 white lands on the table. West coast Chardonnay lovers will go wild for this wine’s texture and power, but its freshness and minerality meant that even monogamous white Burgundy lovers will find something to adore here—it’s a complete package.

We’ve long been fans of Domaine de Piaugier, so on our trip to the Rhône last summer we took a detour to explore this under-the-radar appellation for ourselves. 

We were bombing down the Rhône hills from Gigondas, with the sandy plains of Sablet in sight, but the little European econobox we were driving wasn’t exactly enjoying the journey. Shaking from the speed while the braking around the sharp curves of the descent, we wondered if we were going to be alive—forget on time—for our appointment with Domaine de Piaugier, one of the top addresses for white wines that combine power and complexity at prices that would be hard to believe if it didn’t take so much work (and apparently risk) to find them.

If they were in a ritzier neighborhood, there’s no doubt that Piaugier would be a legend already, but Sablet remains just far enough away from Châteauneuf-du-Pape that it’s still possible to find real hidden gems. We arrived, shaken, and Jean-Marc welcomed us with a big smile and quickly ushered us in—despite his warm personality, he’s definitely not one to waste time or attention on things that aren’t wine.

Grabbing a thief, he scurried through the cellar, pulling samples out of barrels of and blending them all in a graduated cylinder. “Try this” he said, explaining that it was the blend of his Sablet blanc, due to be bottled soon. We tasted—and quickly realized that we had a real winner on our hands. This was his top white bottling, but, at just $23, offers a ton of value compared to top whites of the region.

It was a dead ringer for a much more expensive Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc—Château de Beaucastel came quickly to mind—with rich aromas of Newton Pippen apple and hawthorn blossoms overtop a distinctly quartz-like mineral sensation. The palate was full-bodied and broad, with quince, hints of vanilla, clove, and a power that we expect from the top whites of the Rhône. Its freshness was striking, as well, with zip and minerality that belied its warm-climate origins.

Part of the reason for this success is undoubtedly Piaugier’s vineyards—some of the finest in Sablet. The town is named after the sandy soils in the vineyards of the area and those sands translate into wines with expressive aromatics and lively textures (just like they do in the area of Châteauneuf-du-Pape around Château Rayas).

Domaine Piaugier crafts their Sablet blanc from a blend of Roussanne, Clairette, Viognier and Grenache Blanc, which give the wine power, acidity, floral aromatics and orchard fruit, respectively. Fermented with native yeasts and aged in previously-used barrels for eight months before bottling, this wine shows all the hallmarks of much more expensive wines because it’s made in the same ways. Jean-Marc clearly takes a lot of care and pride in this wine and it shows.

If it hailed from farther south in the Rhône, this wine would likely be twice as expensive (or more!). We put in the miles off the beaten path because we love wines like this—bottles that aren’t on the radar of most wine lovers: just us, and now, you.