A transcendant viognier

Matthew Jukes show cases the first of his two great-value wines from the south of France.

Matthew Jukes
By Matthew Jukes
published

724-terre-de-lumiere

2013 Terre de Lumire Viognier, Celliers Jean d'Alibert, Pays d'Oc, France(£7.95, Corney & Barrow, 020-7265 2430, corneyandbarrow.com).

This week and next I am featuring two stunning wines from the south of France. There is a very real reason to shop in this part of the vast wine world however, you are not always guaranteed a hearty wine at a bargain price after all, this is their supposed USP.

Avoid vin de pays sauvignon blanc because the Loire is still the place to secure great wines at stunning prices. I would search for cheapie chardonnays from Australia instead of the Languedoc (Limoux aside).

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The whites to seek out are made from grapes that worship the sun, not those who favour more controlled climates marsanne, roussanne, picpoul, clairette and, of course, viognier are the stars.

Celliers Jean d'Alibert is one of the oldest established wineries, in the ancient Minervois region, in the heart of the south. Here theygrow a wide range of grape varieties, butviognier is their standout star.

With heavenly, haunting peach blossom notes on the nose and an apple skin and lime leaf palate, this is a joyous creation. Look no further for the essence of the Languedoc in shimmering, transcendent form. Next week red!

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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