Bonnefond Condrieu 23

Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond’s wines somehow keep getting better. They’ve enjoyed a string of excellent recent vintages in the vines, but they also seem to be hitting their stride in the cellar. Once firmly in the ripe, oaky, “extroverted” camp that made them a darling of Robert Parker, the domaine has shifted towards subtler expression in recent years: less time in oak, larger barrels, and earlier harvests. The Bonnefonds now achieve an extraordinary subtlety in their wines — it’s still bold, brooding, inky-dark Northern Rhône Syrah, but somehow also with subtlety, grace, and lift.

Condrieu is round and pleasant in the mouth, but really this wine is all about the aromatics. It is best enjoyed in a balloon glass like those for serving red Burgundy — and swirling in such a vessel produces gorgeous notes of ripe fruit: apricot, pineapple, white peach, and more. We think it’s best enjoyed as an apéritif.