2019 Alexandre Bain, Champ Couturier, Vin de France

An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp  Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves. It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.

France is the world’s leading fine wine producer. Its key regions – Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, Rhône, Alsace and, increasingly, Languedoc Roussillon – set the benchmark internationally for a diverse range of wine styles. The country’s grape varieties are grown, and its wines emulated, throughout the world.

Located in Pouilly Fumé, Alexandre Bain does not make traditional Pouilly Fumé style Sauvignon Blanc but something much more unique and atypical to the appellation.