Tag Archives: gros manseng

Wine of the week: Brumont La Gascogne 2016

Brumont La GascogneThe Brumont La Gascogne reminds us how cheap and delicious white wine from France’s Gascon region can be

White wine from the French region of Gascony, like the Brumont La Gascogne, has never caught on with the wine intelligentsia like Sicilian wine did. Which is very good news for those of us looking for quality and value.

Sicilian wine prices have gone up, even for cheap wines, and quality has become maddeningly inconsistent. That’s what happens when you’re noticed by the Winestream Media. But Gascon wine, mostly made with grapes that the wine geeks consider inferior, is still $10 and delicious.

Like the Brumont La Gascogne ($10, purchased, 12.5%). It’s made with sauvignon blanc and gros manseng; the latter is grown only in parts of Gascony and even there is used in a variety of different ways. In this case, its softer stone fruit flavors play off the citrus in the sauvignon blanc, and the wine is refreshing without being too tart. Gros manseng also helps give the wine the wonderful Gascon white grape juice flavor that I like so much, though it’s not as pronounced as it is in a couple of others.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2019 $10 Hall of Fame. Drink this chilled on its own if you want a respite from wintry red wines, or pair it with roast or grilled chicken. It would also work as the wine in chicken braised in white wine.

Imported by Kindred Vines

Wine of the week: Domaine du Tariquet Classic 2015

domaine du tariquetThis vintage of the legendary Domaine du Tariquet may be the best yet

How enjoyable is this year’s Domaine du Tariquet? It may be the best bottle ever of the Wine Curmudgeon’s favorite Gascon white blend, and that’s saying something since I’ve waxed eloquent about it for eight vintages.

What makes the Domaine du Tariquet ($10, purchased, 10.5%) a great cheap wine? First, it’s simple but not stupid, with every flavor where it should be. The 2015 has the white grapiness I like, but also some lemon and lime that adds a little interest. That’s the biggest difference between this vintage and the others, which didn’t have as much citrus.

Second, ugni blanc, colombard, and gros manseng, three of the four grapes in the wine (sauvignon blanc is the other, and lends the extra citrus). What better way to irritate a wine snob than to mention your $10 white Gascon blend with ugni blanc? Let them find that in a $200, 92-point red something or other with its leather and cigar box aromas.

Third, it’s refreshing and fun to drink, and shows off its low alcohol. Fourth, it doesn’t require points or a wine app or an expert or special equipment to drink. You buy it, chill it, twist off the screwcap, and enjoy it. What more does an everyday bottle of wine need to be?

Highly recommended, and it will return to the $10 Hall of Fame in 2017.