François Villard Côte-Rôtie, Le Gallet Blanc | 2017

The wines of François Villard have evolved from full-throttle, flashy into elegant and humble. Since his first vintage in 1989, Villard has steadily dialed back the oak, believing that intensity and aromatics are shaped in the vineyard. Le Gallet Blanc is 100% Syrah, grown in the schist-rich pockets of Ampuis and Saint-Cyr. In the cellar, more than half the berries ferment with their stems, and the wine is aged in just 20% new oak. It’s a textbook expression of Côte-Rôtie’s distinctly dark red fruits. The nose is over the top, spilling with sweet cherries and raspberries, while the savory notes recall a grand feast of bacon glaze, fennel-sausages, and crackling golden skins. It’s like Thanksgiving in a glass—and really, what could be better than that? ~Allegra Angelo