Domaine Les Yeuses Vermentino, IGP Pays d’Oc, France 2018 (£8.95, Lea & Sandeman) The Languedoc may not be on top of your list of go-to places for refreshing white wine. It never used to be on mine, either: the sun-baked Midi’s winemaking hub is largely red wine country (about three-quarters of the grapes grown are red) and its spicy red blends are some of the best value wines in the world. But too many of the whites seemed rather flat and lifeless – especially during the years when the Languedoc’s only answer to the challenge of New World wines was to take advantage of the looser rules and regulations of the IGP (formerly Vin de) Pays d’Oc appellation to imitate Australia or California. Things are rather more interesting now, and this summer I’ve been enjoying the style (and it has to be said, price) of a number of Languedoc whites, not least Domaine Les Yeuses’ super lively lemony take on Mediterranean grape, vermentino.
Domaine Felines-Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc, France 2018 (£8.50, The Wine Society) There are parts of the Languedoc that have always been better known for whites than reds, with the patch of vines that follows the Étang du Thau lagoon around the towns of Agde, Sète and Pézenas perhaps the best-known of all. Here the Picpoul de Pinet appellation takes its name from the piquepoul blanc grape variety and produces wine that is, logically enough, perfectly suited to the local seafood, including the oysters cultivated in the lagoon itself. These whites are decidedly unpretentious – simple but in a good way. There’s no attempt – or at least none that I’ve come across – to imitate burgundy or make vins de garde for tucking away in the cellar for years. At their best they offer a calmingly cool and crisp combination of citrus and subtle floral and leafy herbal notes with a seabreeze freshness, all qualities found in Felines-Jourdan’s top-notch example.
Domaine Begude Terroir 11300 Organic Chardonnay, IGP Haute Vallée de l’Aude, France 2018 (£9.99, Waitrose) Another Languedoc region with a white wine speciality can be found in the foothills of the Pyrenees around the pretty medieval hill-town of Limoux, where the elevation of the vineyards brings a distinct, cooler climate that is highly amenable to preserving the acidity so necessary for giving life to white and sparkling wines. Grape varieties around here include southwestern French speciality mauzac and chenin blanc (better known further north in the Loire), but a lot of my favourites are made from chardonnay. Made in a barrel-fermented style, with fleshy orchard fruit and clean lines, Limoux chardonnay is closer in style to Mâcon in southern Burgundy than steely Chablis in the north. Try two from the fine British-run estate Domaine Bégude: the ripe, rounded, elegantly toasted Domaine Bégude L’Étoile Chardonnay 2018 (£15.99, Majestic) and, from the wider Haute Vallée de l’Aude appellation, the zippy, luminous Terroir 11300.
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