WHITES FROM THE RHONE Domaine des Remezieres 1999, $490 This is a good wine - and it should be for the price. A friend with more money than sense brought it to a recent Sunday lunch at a waterfront Cantonese seafood restaurant and we fell upon it like hammerhead sharks on a dead garoupa. It was delicious - big and generous on the palate with nice honey and melon flavours. It went particularly well with the crab with black bean sauce. Most white wines should be drunk young but this is made of marsanne, a robust grape. Properly cellared this wine can safely be kept for up to two decades. It's made with old-fashioned techniques and left to age gently in the bottle. Altaya Wines (tel: 2523 1945) St Benoit Vins de Pays de Vaucluse 2000, $108 Famous for its light reds, the Rhone has seen a revolution over the past decade among young winemakers who are producing highly flavoured whites. This is a pure chardonnay. It is a light yellow wine - fresh and dry with fetching peach and flowery flavours. The estate was created in 1989 when three family holdings, all several centuries old, were united. St Benoit has swiftly built a reputation for innovation and reliability in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation. The primary grape varietals are grenache blanc, clairette, roussanne, picpoul and picardan. Blends from this label tend to be strongly flavoured. This chardonnay is an exception. Cellarmasters (tel: 2791 6332) Nobles Rives Cave De Tain l'Hermitage 2002, $70 This is a voluptuous wine with flavours of pears and peach that last long on the palate. At this price you can throw in a few ice cubes and a splash of soda for a summer aperitif. Made from 100 per cent marsanne and fermented in stainless steel, you get the full, natural taste of the grape. These days you can buy increasing numbers of single-varietal Rhone wines that let you enjoy the unique flavour of a single type of grape. This goes well with roast chicken. Wine 'n' Things (tel: 2873 5733)
