We’re with Yapp Bros this week and so popular with readers is the Domaine Gaujal, Picpoul de Pinet (1) that we’ve offered three previous vintages of it before, selling out every time. I’m delighted, then, to waft the 2017 under your beaks, for it’s another cracker. As you know, Picpoul is the grape (known locally as ‘lip-stinger’) and Pinet is the place, one of just six communes on the shores of Languedoc-Roussillon’s Bassin de Thau that makes this deliciously invigorating wine. Ludovic Gaujal is an 11th-generation vigneron and has conjured up a wine full of citrus freshness, herbs and nuts and with a long, satisfying, slightly savoury finish. £10.75 down from £11.75.
If, for whatever bonkers reason, I was told I could only ever drink the white wines of one part of France, I would unhesitatingly plump for those of glorious Alsace. The 2016 Léon Beyer ‘Réserve Personelle’ Pinot Blanc (2) comes from one of the oldest producers in the region (there since 1580 for heaven’s sake) and is of textbook quality. With plenty of fresh apple’n’pear-like fruit, hints of honey, spice and an elegant creaminess, its finish is agreeably bone-dry. £12.95 down from £13.95.
The wines of Menetou-Salon in the Loire Valley might not be the well-kept secret they once were but they are still decent value when compared to Sancerre and the 2017 Domaine Jean Teiller, Menetou-Salon (3) is as good as any you will find. Patricia Teiller was a huge hit at her Spectator Winemaker Lunch a couple of years back and it was hard to tell whether readers were more smitten by her or her wines. Made from 100 per cent Sauvignon Blanc (certified organic), the wine is deliciously crisp and dry but with buckets of ripe, juicy fruit too.
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