Wine of the week: a stunning Alpine white

2019 Benedict White, Dveri Pax, Slovenia

The Wine Society sent over a case of tasting samples the other day entitled “Alpine Wines”. I was delighted to reacquaint myself with an old favourite of mine, 2020 Chignin Vers les Alpes Jean-François Quénard (£10.95), in this box of goodies. I first tasted the wines from Quénard some 30 years ago and I have never forgotten the shiver down my spine brought on by the racy, rapier-sharp Jacquère grape variety. The new 2020 vintage arrives in the country and it is as bright and steely as any wine I have tasted from this famous Juran estate. As the weather warms up and we search for electrifying dry whites to challenge our senses, this wine seems like the perfect antidote to oceans of samey sauvignon blanc.

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I was expecting the Chignin to perform at the highest level too, but I was flabbergasted by my featured white wine. With identical vital statistics to the rapier-sharp Jacquère, this exquisite Slovenian white is made from an inspired blend of pinot grigio, furmint and riesling. The Benedictine monks from Admont Abbey, across the border from Graz in Austria, have been producing wine in today’s Slovenia since 1139. Winemaker Danilo Flakus has taken the reins of the elite Austrian estate FX Pichler and this wine continues its tradition of making excellent wines. I urge you to taste these two stunning “Alpine” whites.

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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.