Tag Archives: grenache blanc

Wine of the week: Moulin de Gassac Guilhem White 2020

Moulin de Gassac Guilhem White 2020
Moulin de Gassac Guilhem White 2020/$9-$15

Add the Moulin de Gassac Guilhem white to the list of terrific cheap wines that I haven’t raved enough about

Call this mea culpa month on the blog, since I seem to be writing about wines I’ve always liked but never quite given the accolades they deserved. This week, it’s the $10 or so wines from a French producer, Moulin de Gassac.

I’ve written about the Gassac Guilhem red, white, and rose wines since 2014, but never really put them in any kind of perspective. Once, I even wrote they were from Gascony, when they’re from the Languedoc. So consider this review, for the Moulin de Gassac Guilhem White 2020 ($12, purchased, 12%) an acknowledgment that the wines are Hall of Fame quality and well worth buying.

The Gassac white is a blend that includes terret, which most of us have never heard of; the much unappreciated grenache blanc; and vementino, an Italian grape grown throughout southern France, where it’s sometimes known as rolle.

So no, this doesn’t taste like chardonnay.

Instead, it has some spice, some stone fruit, and a bit of tartness. I wouldn’t say it’s oily, which sometimes happens with grenache blanc wines, and it’s not crisp like sauvignon blanc. Instead, it’s full and almost rich (the winery’s tasting notes use the term fleshy, which seems accurate.)

Drink this with grilled or fried fish (catfish, maybe?). Highly recommended, and almost certain to enter the Hall of Fame next month. And don’t be surprised if it makes the short list for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Beaune Imports

Wine of the week: Ferraton Cotes du Rhone Blanc Samorens 2015

Ferraton SamorensThe Ferraton Samorens is a white blend from the Rhone region of France with two odd grapes, which is one reason why the Wine Curmudgeon liked it. The other? How about terroir and value?

The Ferraton Samorens ($13, sample, 13%) is the kind of wine I wished we saw more often in the U.S. But since we’ve been told we have to drink varietal wine, you have to look harder for something like the Ferraton Samorens.

What will you find if you see it on a shelf? A white blend with grenache blanc and clairette, about as far removed from Big Wine chardonnay and pinot grigio as possible. That means a certain floral aroma, with soft pear and apple fruit and what one review called liveliness – despite not having a lot of the acidity usually found in white wines at this price.

In this, the price is the only disappointment. A couple of years ago, the Ferraton Samorens would have been closer to $10, and the weak euro should have kept it that way. But we’re seeing producers, importers, and distributors keep prices up, and that’s the cost of enjoying this wine.

Wine of the week: Moulin de Gassac Guilhem 2014

Moulin de Gassac GuihemThe Wine Curmudgeon’s crankiness, as regular visitors here know, is not an act. It’s because I am forced to taste so much insulting wine that is sold by retailers who don’t care as long as they make their numbers. Hence $8 wine with a $15 price tag and private label junk dressed in winespeak and a cute label.

So when I find something like the Moulin de Gassac Guilhem ($12, purchased, 12.5%), I buy two bottles. Or even more. This is cheap white wine – and French cheap white wine at that – that reminds us what cheap white wine is supposed to taste like. And that it is made with the little known grenache blanc and the even more obscure clairette doesn’t hurt, either. Take that, fake oak chardonnay!

Look for amazing acidity, tempered by just enough white fruit (barely ripe pears?) and a certain white pepper spiciness. It’s easy to tell that the producer, best known for some highly-rated and pricey wines from southern France, cares about the cheap stuff, too.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2017 $10 Hall of Fame.