The first is another illustration of the fine results now being achieved with white wine in Roussillon. As little as a generation ago, I would never have thought of ordering white from any of the French Mediterranean rim, except perhaps from Cassis and Ch.Simone, because the majority of them were so flabby.
The second, from Jurançon, confirms my 20 year old view that these are some of the finest whites in France, happily still reasonably priced. With Vouvray in disarray, I will go to them more often but that's no hardship
. Both do very dry through to very sweet but the characters are quite different. (BTW there are ghastly floods at the moment in the Jurançon region but I guess that the vineyards are too high to be affected.)
Côtes du Roussillon Blanc Les Vieilles Vignes 2010 – Domaine Le Roc des Anges, Marjorie & Stéphane Gallet – Alc.12.5% - (€16), made from 70-100 year old vines of Grenache gris 90% and Macabeu 10%. This wine was delicious with a refreshing bouquet of white fruit and abundant minerals and an intense medium weight palate with a wonderful combination of fresh fruit, warm Mediterranean undertones, quite crisp acidity and lively minerals. From memory slightly deeper and more complex than a bottle a year ago. Excellent 17/20
QPR.
Jurançon sec Vitatge Vielh de Lapeyre 2007 – Clos Lapeyre, Larrieu – Alc.14% - (€14), made from Gros & Petit Manseng and Courbu organically grown. This is a lovely wine which seems to have hardly changed compared with my notes on a bottle two years ago. The nose was invigorating with complex notes including passion fruit, minerals and honey and could have presaged a sweeter wine. The long palate was dry, medium bodied with generosity and some roundness and
gras and was infused with lively fruit, acacia hints, complex minerals and juicily crisp acidity. The high alcohol did not obtrude. It went very well with fish. Excellent 17/20+
QPR!!.