DRINK DIFFERENT - COMING BACK TO BORDEAUX

Not so long ago, a column about alternative wine choices would, when tackling Sauvignon Blanc, suggest trying a bottle from New Zealand in place of the ‘standard’ French – usually Loire – Sauvignon.

It’s symptomatic of our topsy-turvy wine world that nowadays the first choice Sauvignon for many will be the Kiwi version – and so it is back to France that we turn for our Drink Different choice this month; not to the Loire, but to a region best known for its red wines – Bordeaux.

Surprisingly, around ten per cent of all wine made in Bordeaux is white – that’s four million cases a year.  In the 1950s this figure was closer to 50 per cent, so this region has form in producing white wine.  Semillon is the most common grape here, but just over a third of all white grapes grown are Sauvignon Blanc, and they make stunning, characterful wines with citrus, grapefruit, honey and mineral characters.