A unique and thrilling white – and a bargain too

The 2016 Château L’Hospitalet is stunning – I know you will have fun with this beauty, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
By Matthew Jukes
published

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2016 Chteau L'Hospitalet, La Reserve Blanc, La Clape, Grard Bertrand, Coteaux du Languedoc, France (£19.65, Strictly Wine, 01235-364536, StrictlyWine.co.uk).

There is a uniquely delicious style of white wine made in the Languedoc from a beautiful, aromatic and sensual blend of white grapes, and it is called La Clape Blanc. Many estates try to get this wistful wine right, but only a handful succeed. This brand-new release from the famous Monsieur Bertrand is head and shoulders above the competition. The blend of 44% bourboulenc, 28% vermentino (rolle), 17% grenache blanc and 11% roussanne, is the finest quartet of subtly aromatic grapes imaginable.

There is no viognier in here. Riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot gris and muscat perform better further north in Alsace. This wine just uses the most historic and evocative varieties in the locale and the weightlessness and profundity of flavour is simply jaw-dropping. I would drink it over virtually any white Rhne I can think of (even those with a 1' in front of this price).

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Every facet shows restraint and wonder, from the honeysuckle touches on the nose to the lavender and bay notes infused into the palate. You must experience this wine because it is unique, thrilling, rewarding and also a bargain. I know you will have fun with this beauty.

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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