The 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Les Gallimardes (an even split of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne and Bourboulenc) offers up clean and fresh notes of white peach, pear, licorice and hints of almond to go with a medium-bodied, lightly textured profile on the palate. Classy, with additional richness developing with time in the glass, it’s a serious white that will drink nicely for at least 2-4 years. Drink now-2017. This is a terrific lineup of wines by the brother and sister team of Marie and Francois Giraud. Their 2011s are certainly near the top of the vintage, with the 2012s looking just as good. In addition to releasing stunning reds, this estate always produces a terrific white. Marie produced three red Chateauneufs in 2012, with no Les Gallimardes due to the tiny quantity. During my tasting, Marie commented on the rain in late September and the difficulty in deciding when to pick. Opting to wait until after the rain for the majority of their plots, this spread the harvest out over five weeks as opposed to the normal two weeks. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565