White Wines
Image: forbes.com
Patrick O’Connell is an organizational leader who held interim responsibilities with London-based High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, directing strategic and programmatic elements. Following his time with HS2, he served as interim chairman and CEO Aquila Air Traffic Management Services Ltd. In addition to living and working in Europe, Patrick O’Connell spent six years in Paris, where he became well versed in European wines.
A recent Forbes article brought focus to a trend of well-known red wine producers producing exceptional white wines that express familiar terroirs in new and unexpected ways.
One high-profile example of this is Ornellaia, a top Italian red wine producer, which first created white wine vintages in 2013 and released them for consumption two years later. Priced similarly to its reds in the $250 range, only 4,000 such bottles are produced each year. Combining Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc grown across three vineyards, the wine is described as complex and ambrosial in aroma. Its floral palate is paired with a hint of tarragon and “seashell minerality” that makes the wine complex and inviting.
Another example of this trend is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape terroir, where white wines by Domaine de Naly and Château Mont-Redon have picked up acolytes across the Atlantic, although they do not enjoy the same prestige as the reds produced by the wineries in France itself.
Patrick O'Connell 