The south of France is rightly loved for its red wines, but with spring in the air, we want to highlight the white wines of that gorgeous landscape.
The sheer diversity of white grape varieties that were entered into this Trophy was dazzling: Marsanne, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Rolle (as Vermentino is known in these parts), Piquepoul, Roussanne, Gros and Petit Manseng – all the white treasures of southern France – as well as international varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. We received single-varietal wines and blends from a broad array of appellations, from Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, via Provence, across Languedoc and Gaillac.
Naturally, the wines from such a broad intake come in a variety of styles, so check our tasting notes to get an idea if you are in for a full-bodied, gastronomic white or a scented, lighter summer wine.
Our winning wine is from a rather venerable appellation: Domaine Duclaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2019. This area in the southern Rhône counts amongst the world’s greatest for red wines, but its whites are a discovery: textured, rounded and age-worthy. These whites are so overlooked – so we are happy to highlight this winner.
Second place goes to another famed appellation: Cave de Roquebrun’s Golden Vines 2019 from Saint-Chinian. This blend of Roussanne and Grenache Blanc presents a wonderful mix of nutty and peachy flavours. Cave de Roquebrun is consistently one of the best co-operative wineries in France.
The third place is taken by a regional appellation: Château de Lascaux Les Pierres d’Argent 2016 Languedoc AOC. This blend of Marsanne, Roussanne and Vermentino is smooth and rich but also wonderfully fresh – and comes with these varieties’ customary texture. Enjoy!
The top three in detail
Blind tastings are an integral part of every magazine that covers wine. At Falstaff, both in our quarterly print editions and online at falstaff.com, we feature themed wine competitions – which we call “Trophies” – to pitch wines against each other under a common theme, be it varietal, regional or stylistic.
Falstaff's next Trophy is all about the pink stuff – it is themed around global Rosé wines.
We invite producers from around the globe to submit rosé wines of any hue – from pale pink to deep copper – in two categories: dry and off-dry/medium sweet.
The results will be published in our summer issue, out in mid-June, in readiness for summer drinking.
If you are a winery or importer interested in taking part, please see the link below:
