L'Archiviste VDNs in 2017

In June I had another chance to taste the latest vintage-dated vins doux naturels from the collection of L’Archiviste, Philippe Gayral. You can find earlier tasting articles devoted to these unique wines (useful for gifts) in 2014 and 2013. 

These are wines based on the traditional grape variety of Roussillon, Grenache, in which the fermentation is stopped by the addition of alcohol, so that the resulting level is around 17%, about the same strength as the resulting wine would be if all the sugar built up in the baking vineyards around Perpignan were...