WHITE SOUTH FRANCE
Le Froglet Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £6.49
Winemaker and winery: Cédric Jenon, Maison Virginie
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Vin de France
Viticulture/Vinification: Average vine age is 10 to 15 years. Temperature controlled vinification in stainless steel tanks.
329 stores
11.5% alc
Light, lemony aroma. Tart and pleasant. Not obviously lacking in alcohol.
Château Clément Termes Perlé Gaillac 2011 £8.99
Winemaker and winery: Olivier David, Château Clément Termes
60% Loin de L’œil, 35% Muscadelle and 5% Mauzac
South West of France
Viticulture/Vinification: Hot sunny days and cool nights in the region with a dry, hot wind “vent d’autan”. Grapes are pressed then cold stored at 5°c for 3 weeks, followed by fining and racking. The wine is then left on fine lees at a low temperature. The wine is bottled while youthful and retains some CO2 from fermentation known as “pearls”, hence Perlé.
209 stores
12.5% alc
Never tasted loin de l’oeil before. Peardroppy nose. Tastes a little like pinot grigio to me. Short.
WHITE RHONE
Côtes du Lubéron Blanc 2011 £7.99
Winemaker and winery: Fabien, Cave cooperative de Valdeze
50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Vermentino and 25% Ugni Blanc
Viticulture/Vinification: Vines have an average age of 25 years and are Royat Cordon pruned. The grapes are fermented at low temperatures.
346 stores
13% alc
Lightly fruity. Quite a herbal, savoury taste. Plenty of flavour to go with tasty food.
WHITE LOIRE
Domaine de Villargeau Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £8.99
Winemaker and winery: Marc Thibault, Domaine de Villargeau
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Coteaux du Giennois
Viticulture/Vinification: Vine yield is controlled through meticulous pruning and systematic de-budding. The grapes are grown using environmentally-friendly and sustainable viticulture. The grapes are pressed gently and fermented slowly. The wine is aged on its lees with limited filtration.
361 stores
13% alc
Mineral, rain-on-warm-stone, aroma. Light, with a pithy finish. Perfectly good Loire sauvignon.
Les Fouinelles Pouilly Fumé 2010 £25.00
Winemaker and winery: Alain Cailbourdin
100 % Sauvignon Blanc
Viticulture/Vinification: Fermentation and ageing is completed in demi-muids - 300 & 600 litres barrels. Only 15% of new oak is used in the final blend. The wine is aged 11 months on its lees with regular stirring and then blended in stainless steel tanks before being bottled the following spring.
65 stores
13% alc
Crazily heavy bottle. Aha, it’s oaked. There’s a catty, box hedge nose, but also something sweet and like basil. (By the way, lemon cheese cake, with basil snipped all over the top, is fabulous). The taste is massive. If you like Pouilly Fumé, this may distress you. It’s full, rich and tropical, pink grapefruity and again with basil. Fascinating. Just scrolled up to see the price. Thought it might be on the pricey side. It’s extraordinary and real sauvignon fans probably ought to try it.
for being fascinating.
Château de Montguéret Saumur Blanc 2011 £7.99
Winemaker and winery: Serge de Bucy and Jérôme Chailloux, Château de Montguéret
85% Chenin and 15% Chardonnay
Viticulture and Winemaking: The soil is calcareous clay similar to the Champagne area. Grapes are harvested early in the morning and cold stabilised for 48 hours. The juice is then fermented at low temperatures.
317 stores
12% alc
A musty nose. Wet wool, I suppose. Very lemony, acidic, dry palate.
Montlouis sur Loire Les Tuffeaux Demi-sec 2009 £18.99
Winemaker and winery: François Chidaine, GAEC François Chidaine
100% Chenin Blanc
Viticulture/Vinification: Vines are between 30 and 90 years old. After pressing, the juice is fermented in 600 litre barrels (French oak). Fermentation can take up to 6 months and the wine spends 11 months in barrel before racking and bottling.
65 stores
13.5% alc
Heavy bottle. Dark coloured wine, with honey and obvious weight on the nose. Now this is an exciting wine. Off-dry to medium dry. Bright, intense and heavy with ripe fruit. It’s delicious. Was so hoping it was a reasonable price.
WHITE BURGUNDY
Mâcon Villages 2011 £8.99
Winemaker and winery: Georges Brichon
100% Chardonnay
Viticulture/Vinification: Soils are a mix of silica and granite and grapes are gently pressed. The must spends 3 weeks in tank at low temperatures. The resulting wine is aged for a minimum of 6 months in stainless steel.
677 stores
13% alc
Little aroma. Light and perfectly pleasant unoaked French chardonnay. Lasts quite well. A please-all wine.
Viré-Clessé 2011 £11.99
Winemaker and winery: Alain Serveau, Maison Albert Bichot
100% Chardonnay
Viticulture/Vinification: Predominantly limestone and chalk soil. Alcoholic fermentation is 20% oak barrels and 80% temperature-controlled stainless steel for 5-6 weeks. 100% of the resulting blend is then aged for 10 months in French oak barrels (20% new), where malolactic fermentation also occurs.
312 stores
13% alc
An attractive nose, with a hint of oak. Refreshing, oaky, French. Very fair price.
Chablis Louis Moreau 2010 £12.99
Winemaker and winery: Louis Moreau, SARL Louis Moreau
100% Chardonnay
Viticulture/Vinification: Following fermentation, the wine is racked and fined then cold-stabilised before being filtered. The wine is made using only organic products and no fertilisers or pesticides are used.
305 stores
12% alc
Creamy aroma. Very moreish acidity. Really nice to drink. Definitely worth getting in for Christmas, especially if they drop the price, festively. (I have no inside info that this will happen)
Bourgogne Blanc Les Femelottes 2011 £14.99
Winemaker and winery: Romaric Chavy, Domaine Louis Chavy
100% Chardonnay
Viticulture/Vinification: The vines of Les Folatières are situated just metres away from AOC Puligny. Romaric follows lutte raisonnée, with no herbicides or systemic chemicals. The grapes are hand-picked, cold pressed and fermented in barrels. They are then aged in barrels for a further 6- 8 months.
246 stores
12.5% alc
Very little aroma. Light and inoffensive taste.
Pernand-Vergelesses Les Combottes Blanc 2010 £26.00
Winemaker and winery: Vincent Rapet, Domaine Rapet
100% Chardonnay
Viticulture/Vinification: Grapes are hand-picked into small boxes, not destemmed, and pressed with a pneumatic press. After 24 hours racking at low temperature follows and the free run juice is placed in barrels (30% new) to ferment. Ageing on lees and stirring lasts until July and bottling is carried out after 12 months ageing.
65 stores
13% alc
Very appealing lime aroma. Limey taste. This is quite lightweight. Elegant, perhaps.
Chavy-Chouet Meursault Narvaux 2010 £30.00
Winemaker and winery: Romaric Chavy, Domaine Chavy-Chouet
100% Chardonnay
Viticulture/Vinification: The vineyard is on the upper, south facing slopes of Meursault. Romaric uses lutte raisonnée, with no herbicides or systemic chemicals. The vines are over 50 years old and the vineyard soil is shallow and rocky. The wines are barrel fermented and then aged with 30% in new oak for 12 months.
65 stores
13% alc
Rich, deep and very appealing nose. A lot of texture and acid intensity. It’s lovely. I suppose if I could afford to drink this sort of wine all the time it would seem a bit samey. Thank goodness then that it’s a real treat.
Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru les Chalumeaux 2010 £42.00
Winemaker and winery: Domaine Jean Pascal & Fils
100% Chardonnay
Viticulture/Vinification: Grapes are pressed in a pneumatic press and aged for 20 months in French oak (25% new) with 4 months of batonnage. Blending takes place in stainless steel tanks 2 months prior to bottling.
65 stores
13.5% alc
Deep gold colour. This has that rich, tropical aroma of mango. Really very ripe indeed. Full, heavy, oaky, but not chewy. Beautiful.