A 90% Roussanne Rarity That Drinks Like $300 Hermitage
2019 Thomas Farge Plan Rapproche Saint-Peray
This is a bottle that sommeliers hoard for themselves. Why? Because finding a Northern Rhône white that delivers the profound, oily texture of Hermitage Blanc without the triple-digit price tag is nearly impossible. The secret lies in the varietal. Most Saint-Péray is made from Marsanne, which produces friendly, fruity wines. Thomas Farge’s Plan Rapproché is a total outlier: it is dominated by 90% Roussanne. Roussanne is the "royal" grape of the region—the variety responsible for the legendary …
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The "Noble" Grape: At 90% Roussanne (a rarity in the appellation), this wine offers the complex, herbal tea and beeswax profile usually reserved for top-tier Hermitage.
Objective Value: This is a pure math play. You are getting the same dominant grape and similar soil profile as the region’s icons (Chave, Chapoutier) for $29.99—less than 10% of the price of the wines it mimics
Retail
$42.00
Best Online
$41.99
$29.99
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$12.01 off
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Tasting notes
Aroma
A textbook "Noble Roussanne" nose of acacia honey, roasted almonds, beeswax, and apricot skin, lifted by a sharp streak of wet chalk and gunflint
Palate
Broad, viscous, and mouth-coating—this is not a light white wine. It saturates the palate with flavors of ripe pear and chamomile, but the finish is bone-dry and salty, thanks to the limestone terroir
White Wine Body Profile
Light
Bold
Body Profile
Structured
76/100 Intensity
Light
Bold
76.0/100
Feather-light
Lifted
Balanced
Structured
Powerful
Grapes
90% Roussanne, 10% Marsanna
ABV
13.5%
Serving
49–54°F
Window
2025–2037
In Detail
Thomas Farge’s "Plan Rapproché" is an anomaly in Saint-Péray—a limestone-driven masterpiece that captures the weight and waxiness of the Northern Rhône’s greatest whites.
This is a bottle that sommeliers hoard for themselves. Why? Because finding a Northern Rhône white that delivers the profound, oily texture of Hermitage Blanc without the triple-digit price tag is nearly impossible.
The secret lies in the varietal. Most Saint-Péray is made from Marsanne, which produces friendly, fruity wines. Thomas Farge’s Plan Rapproché is a total outlier: it is dominated by 90% Roussanne. Roussanne is the "royal" grape of the region—the variety responsible for the legendary longevity and beeswax complexity of Jean-Louis Chave’s Hermitage Blanc (which currently trades for $400+).
Grown on the unique limestone-granite soils of Saint-Péray (a cooler geologic anomaly in the Northern Rhône), this 90% Roussanne blend offers a sensory experience that punches way above its weight class. The solar power of the 2019 vintage provided the richness, while the limestone soil provided the "electric" cut. The result is a wine that feels massive, waxy, and luxurious, yet finishes with a salty, crystalline snap.
