From the Ardeche, the 2006 Vionie de Paille is a wine with 170 grams of residual sugar which reveals tremendous botrytis in its huge honeyed sweetness. Made in a trockenbeerenauslese style, it has dazzling acidity and richness. With twenty vintages under his belt, Michel Chapoutier and his impressive winemaking staff go from strength to strength. These are among the world’s greatest wines, especially the single vineyard wines, many of which will last 50 or more years. Chapoutier thinks 2006 is one of the very finest vintages in the northern Rhone for white wines (and I don’t see any reason to disagree). The naturally high acidity and a summer season with no brutal heat waves allowed the wines to maintain their acidity while at the same time gaining flavor intensity. I have always had the feeling that despite his prodigious ability to make profound red wines, Michel Chapoutier gets a greater thrill from his white wine portfolio than from his impressive reds. . The single vineyard wines from Chapoutier are wines of super concentration, and are made from what are historically tiny yields. Along with Chaves’ white Hermitage and a handful of other Rhone whites, these are potentially the longest-lived and most profound whites being produced there. From the granite hillsides of St.-Joseph, Michel Chapoutier makes by far the appellation’s finest white, and one might argue, red as well.Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

One of the best wines I have tasted is the 2005 Vionie de Paille which, because of the vintage’s high acidity, seems to have more precision and fragrance than usual. The wine tastes like honeyed black tea intermixed with orange liqueur and caramel. It is sensational stuff and extravagantly rich. I would drink it over the next 5-6 years. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900

Once known as Coufis, a sweet wine whose name has changed is the Vionie de Paille. The wine is 100% botrytised Viognier farmed by former technical director, Alberic Mazoyer, who now works for Alain Voge in Cornas. The medium amber/gold-hued 2003 has150 grams of residual sugar, tips the scales at 13% alcohol, and reveals no botrytis whatsoever. Unctuously-textured, rich, and surprisingly fresh, it smells like orange marmalade and honeysuckle. I would opt for drinking it during its first 4-5 years of life. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900