Le Blanc qui Tente

If ever a wine was well named it's Le Blanc qui Tente - the tempting white - a really stunning semillon we picked up in Wholefoods Kensington a couple of weeks ago then managed to mislay.

It's made by Stéphanie Roussel of Chateau Lasolle in the Côtes du Marmandais in the south-west of France apparently just next to one of our other favourite producers Elian da Ros. It's also described as a vin de nature and is exactly that - biodynamic, no artificial yeasts or added sulphur, unfined and unfiltered. But it's the taste that's so amazing - classic rich lush waxy semillon: it could be a top white Bordeaux.

The only problem is I'm not sure which vintage it is. As it's a vin de table it hasn't got a date on the bottle. The current release seems to be 2007 but Aubert & Mascoli the importers seem to have the 2005. I'll update you when I find out.

Although the vintage Wholefoods has - whatever it is - is ace, I'd be inclined to pick it up in France if you can where it only costs €10.70 rather than the £16 odd it costs here

Interestingly we tried another 2007 last night, Catherine and Pierre Breton's Beaumont Chinon which was very disappointing - oddly tarry, earthy and lacking in fruit. I just tried it again, hoping it would have improved overnight but it hasn't (despite the fact it's a fruit day for what that's worth. Yesterday was a leaf day). I guess it's designed to be drunk young and has just passed its 'drink by' date. Not good though.

Tour de Belfort 2009, Vin de Pays du Lot

The only downside to having a national newspaper column is that you get a lot of wine sent to you. Now most of you might think that would be a huge plus and I can obviously see the advantage. But they do take over your life (our hall looks like a warehouse) and it is sometimes hard to keep up with the tasting and plantive emails from producers who ask if you've tried their wine yet.

Anyway I've finally got round (after several emails) to tasting this Tour de Belfort from a Quercy-based estate which sells direct and very enjoyable it is too. Or at least the red - a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Merlot - is. The white - a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Semillon is nothing like as good.

The estate is in conversion - this is what they say on their site:

"We have practiced organic methods since the beginning to produce a wine that is as natural as possible. We do not use any herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizers. We started the Ecocert certification program in 2009 which will give us the organic certification after 3 years of survey, so in a year we will be able to add the certified organic logo on our labels." They also say they don't use any chemical additives in the winery and have low sulphite levels.

The vineyard is also part of a Natura 2000 European (EEC) protected territory "a program designed to protect habitats, species and biodiversity across Europe"

Anyway it's a delicious, soft, fruity, highly drinkable red that anyone would like to have in their cellar. My only quibble is that at £10 a bottle it's a pound or so too pricey. I know that includes the cost of transport from France but they are selling it direct. I'd be happier if it was £8-£9, if you bought a case of 12 at any rate.

Patrice Lescarret’s Dencon

Dencon sounds a bit like a DIY product - not the most appealing name for a wine but it’s named for a reason. The producer Patrice Lescarret of Domaine Causse Marines isn’t allowed to call this wine Gaillac because it’s made solely with the local grape Ondenc which isn’t officially recognised in the appellation. He therefore had to call it a vin de table but couldn’t put the vintage on the bottle so had to number it 7002. The hoops natural winemakers have to go through . . .

It’s unsulphured, unfiltered, unfined, made with natural yeasts and without insecticides or herbicides - in other words uncompromisingly ‘natural’

We picked it up a couple of years ago when we were in Cahors just as we started to get into natural wine and it’s been down to the Languedoc and back to England, finally sitting in our cupboard for about 15 months. Not ideal, we now realise though it’s survived remarkably well as we discovered when we opened it on Saturday night.

It has the typical richness of an artisanal Gaillac white (quince seemed to me the predominant fruit) with the minerality that is characteristic of many natural wines - a lovely wine to drink at this time of year. I seem to remember an extra lushness when we tasted it in Cahors though. I suspect it would have been better if we’d drunk it sooner after we brought it back however it didn’t need to be decanted.

In the UK Green and Blue sell the 2006 vintage for £20. In France it is stocked by VinNatural.fr and Vin Etonnants and in Australia by Terroir Wines. In London you can drink it at La Trouvaille.

Suggested food matches include foie gras (inevitably in that part of the world, though it hardly seems very natural) tagines, curry (which I think would have to be quite mild) and matured goats cheese. I like the idea of trying it with skate - or other fish - with brown butter . . .