French White Wines
France offers the most varied selection of white wines of any country in the world: it’s all in the geography, and the complex matrix of north-south and east-west.
It’s not just a matter of the north being cool and the south hot; it’s the difference between maritime influenced climates to the west and continental climates to the east.
For example, despite being far north Alsace is surprisingly dry - Strasbourg is the second driest city in France after Perpignan! - protected as it is by the Vosges mountains to the west, and enjoys a pretty hot summer. By contrast Bordeaux, right on the bay of Biscay, can be on the receiving end of weather not dissimilar to Cornwall. Then there are regions cooled by proximity to mountains - Jurancon and Limoux, for example, both just north of the Pyrenees; and there’s the really hot zone along the Med in the arc from Marseille to Perpignan.
On the whole each region of France has its own cluster of grape varieties, best suited to its climate and soils: for example the Loire has Sauvignon Blanc grown in the eastern vineyards on calcareous soils, Chenin Blanc in the middle on tufa, and Melon de Bourgogne on the granitic vineyards of Muscadet. Bordeaux has Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon; Burgundy, Chardonnay; and in Alsace there is a bunch of grapes which are also grown in neighbouring Germany and Northern Italy: Pinot Gris (Grigio), Pinot Blanc (Bianco), Gewurtztraminer, plus Riesling. Throughout the Rhône valley, Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon the best results are with grapes able to take the summer heat: Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Rolle (Vermentino) and Macabeu. (Where Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are planted in the south the results tend, with few exceptions, to be poor). Then there are all sorts of weird and wonderful white grapes grown in the outlying areas, such as south-west France (Petit and Gros Manseng among others), Savoie and Jura.
When one considers that many of these wines come in unoaked and oaked styles, the diversity is breathtaking!
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Style
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Intense citrus character and minerality on the palate, completed with a little creaminess on...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeBIL320
GrapeChardonnay
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We have been buying from Domaine des Forges for over twenty years. They make a terrific range...
OriginFrance
RegionLoire
ColourWhite
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeFOR822
GrapeChenin Blanc
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From approximately 50% Clairette, 40% Grenache Blanc and 10% Viognier, with about 20% of the...
OriginFrance
ColourWhite
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeGAR622
GrapeClairette, Grenache Blanc & Viognier
From a terraced plot named Chante-Perdrix (the singing partridge), “très granitique” as...
OriginFrance
RegionRhone
ColourWhite
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeVER620
GrapeViognier
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From a tiny, organically farmed estate with vineyards over the hills (Crêts being crests) near...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeDDC121
GrapeChardonnay
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Blanchots is the sole south-east facing Grand Cru, giving a longer ripening season – arguably...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeROB620
GrapeChardonnay
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From four scattered parcels in this large south and south-east facing 1er Cru; vines averaging...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 13%
Bottle75cl
CodeROB520
GrapeChardonnay
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"Broad, honeysuckle, clementine and spices on the nose. Juicy fruit, drawing from the...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeLEQ520
GrapeChardonnay
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From vines averaging 45 years old (the earliest planted in 1954), on a vineyard facing the 1er...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeROB221
GrapeChardonnay
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From Stéphanie and Philippe Peytavy of Aumelas. Certified organic. 80% Grenache Blanc, 20%...
OriginFrance
RegionLanguedoc
ColourWhite
ABV14%
Bottle75cl
CodeCLA221
GrapeGrenache Blanc & Roussanne
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A classic, thirst-quenching Aligoté from Kimmeridgian soils full of tiny marine fossils near...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeCLO622
GrapeAligoté
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"Gold medal Paris 2023. Blend of Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Rolle and Bourboulenc from...
OriginFrance
RegionLanguedoc-Roussillon
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeLES122
GrapeGrenache Blanc & Clairette