Some Interesting Southern French Whites

So my dull and ignorant friend it's my turn to be boring tonight. I've had a couple of very interesting French whites from the Languedoc-Roussillon region over the last couple of nights. First one was somethig I've never heard of, a 2007 Carignan Blanc(?) form a producer called Domaine des Milles Roses in Roussillon, costing around $22. Apparently there were only around 1000 hectares of this grape planted in the whole of France in 2000, and in fact the winemaker isn't exactly sure what the grape truly is, so he decided to call it Carignan Blanc. So there. Anyway, it has a very rich nose, with lots of floral notes, with honey, lemon, and what I believe is characterised as beeswax, and after some exposure to air some strong notes of white peach, in fact the next day (today) the peach was the predominant feature, and, dare I say it, almost like candied strawberries.. The wine was full-bodied on the palate, and reflected all of the aromas, with the peach and honeysuckle being the predominant flavours. There was also a little minerality on the finish. Sadly though, I felt the acidity was lacking slightly, which left it a little out of balance given the full body, but overall it was a very good wine.

The second wine was from a producer call Ermitage du Pic St. Loup, in the Herault region of the Languedoc. I vesited this place a year ago, and was stunned by the purity and freshness of their wines, especially the white. It was their 2007 Cuvee St Agnes Blanc, which is made up of 50% Roussanne, 20% Clairette, 15% Marsanne and 15% Grenache Blanc, just to be geeky. The aromas just leap out of the glass at you, just begging you to take a sip, it has a very complex nose of honeysuckle, blossom, honey, peach and spice. On the palate it has a little less body than the Carignan Blanc, but still pretty full, and it has a viognier-like oily texture. The fruit flavours and honeysuckle are strong on the mid-palate, and the long, lingering finish has strong minerality and a touch of lemon, and this time the acidity is at just the right level to make a perfectly balanced wine. What is so great about this wine is the amazing freshness and purity of all the flavours, a truly splendid wine, especially when you consider it cost less than 13GBP (no bloody pound sign on stupid US keyboard). I would love to tell you where you can buy this wine, but there is only 1 place on winesearcher to get this vintage, and sadly I bought all their remaining bottles last week, and imported them illegally back to Chicago. Hopefully the 2008 will be as good..

So basically screw all your 1st growth Bordeaux that cost hundreds and have a slurp on a less-than $20 bottle of Southern French plonk. It's always so much more satisfying when you find cheap wines that give you immense amounts of pleasure as there's so much further to fall with stupidly-expensive, ultra-premium bottles.. And here endeth the lesson of St. Alastair, renowned philosopher and sage.

I promise not to be boring again either.