Potentially royal Rhône wines and sweet whites

December scene in Gigondas

Tasting notes from the latest blind tasting in the cellars of Buckingham Palace.

Our latest task as members of the Royal Household Wine Committee was to assess wines submitted for gaps in the Queen's cellar as Rhône whites and reds and sweet whites. Although it was rather difficult to gain admittance for this particular tasting since my arrival coincided with the Changing of the Guard, a tourist favourite (and our weak pound certainly seems to have boosted London's tourist numbers), I always enjoy the chance to taste here because the wines are always presented blind. 

In the Rhône, as in Bourgogne, whites...