Château Le Bernet, Graves Blanc 2013, France
The region of Bordeaux lies in the west of France, not far from the Atlantic coast. It may be best known for its great red wines - the famous 'classed growth' Chateaux, but in fact the region produces just as much white wine and one of the best appellations for white wines is Graves, just south of the city of Bordeaux itself. This is a very typical Graves blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon with a touch of Muscadelle. It has a really inviting nose, with some of the typical Sauvignon Blanc grassy punch and tropicality, but it has an intriguingly waxy, lemon- and grapefruit-peel tang too. In the mouth it is fully, vibrantly fruity, filling the mouth with those zesty citrus flavours, but adding a fat touch of peachy ripeness too. It has very good weight and texture, with a touch of mineral salts to the dry, fresh acidity, that all add up to a moderately priced wine that's excellent to sip on its own, but which has broad food-matching credentials too - watch the video for full information on the region, the wine and for my specific food matching suggestions. It costs £9.00 in Sainsbury's - but do look out for any special offers, as this is one of those wines that occasionally appears with a couple of pounds lopped off.
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