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!

La Chapelle de Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes, 2019

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La Chapelle de Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes, 2019

The second wine of Lafaurie-Peyraguey, a Grand Cru Classe of the Sauternes with 18 hectares of...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionBordeaux

ColourWhite

ABV13%

Bottle75cl

CodeCLP119

GrapeSemillon, Sauvignon Blanc & Muscadelle

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Chardonnay, Les Gryphees, 2022

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Chardonnay, Les Gryphees, 2022
Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Chardonnay, Les Gryphees, 2022

Les Gryphées refers to the fossils of ancient oysters found in the vineyards, and this was our...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionJura

ColourWhite

ABV13.5%

Bottle75cl

CodeLAM322

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Tradition, Sous Voile, 2022

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Tradition, Sous Voile, 2022
Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Tradition, Sous Voile, 2022

70% Chardonnay and 30% Savagnin, fermented and aged ‘sous voile’ separately for two years...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionJura

ColourWhite

ABV13%

Bottle75cl

CodeLAM222

GrapeChardonnay & Savagnin

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Chardonnay, Sous Voile, 2023

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Chardonnay, Sous Voile, 2023
Domaine Frederic Lambert, Cotes du Jura Chardonnay, Sous Voile, 2023

100% Chardonnay aged ‘sous voile’, under a thin film of yeast very similar to the Flor that...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionJura

ColourWhite

ABV13.5%

Bottle75cl

CodeLAM123

GrapeChardonnay

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Vin Jaune, Cotes du Jura, 2017

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Domaine Frederic Lambert, Vin Jaune, Cotes du Jura, 2017
Domaine Frederic Lambert, Vin Jaune, Cotes du Jura, 2017

Vin Jaune is the Jura’s unique gift to the world of wine, a long aged oxidative wine made...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionJura

ColourWhite

ABV14%

Bottle62cl

CodeLAM417

GrapeSavagnin

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Chateau de Toulet, Loupiac, 2022

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Chateau de Toulet, Loupiac, 2022

Toulet has been producing sweet wines since the 13th century and for the last five generations...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionBordeaux

ColourWhite

ABV12%

Bottle75cl

CodeTOU122

GrapeSemillon & Sauvignon Blanc

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Chateau Barrere, Jurancon Moelleux, 2014

A blend of 70% Petit Manseng and 30% Gros Manseng from Jurancon in South West France. Floral...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionJurancon

ColourWhite

ABV13.5%

Bottle75cl

CodeBRR114

GrapePetit Manseng & Gros Manseng

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Mas des Brousses, Blanc, IGP Saint-Guilhem-le- Desert, 2022

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Mas des Brousses, Blanc, IGP Saint-Guilhem-le- Desert, 2022

A blend of no less than eleven grapes this is one of the unsung heroes of our list. Ripe and...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionLanguedoc

ColourWhite

ABV13.5%

Bottle75cl

CodeMAB622

GrapeWhite blend

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Forges, Savennieres, Roche Aux Moines, 2022

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Forges, Savennieres, Roche Aux Moines, 2022

Roche aux Moines is one of the top vineyards in Savennières, a tiny but famed appellation on...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionSavennieres

ColourWhite

ABV13.5%

Bottle75cl

CodeFOR522

GrapeChenin Blanc

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Lequin-Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru Caillerets, 2022

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Jancis Robinson
Lequin-Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru Caillerets, 2022

The name of this 1er cru originates from “cailloux”; its calcareous soil is full of stones...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionBurgundy

ColourWhite

ABV 13.5%

Bottle75cl

CodeLEQ322

GrapeChardonnay

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Lequin-Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Clos Devant, 2022

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Jancis Robinson
Lequin-Colin, Chassagne-Montrachet, Clos Devant, 2022

This is a little-known clos, a walled (or once walled) vineyard, beneath the village of...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionBurgundy

ColourWhite

ABV 13%

Bottle75cl

CodeLEQ222

GrapeChardonnay

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Lequin-Colin, Bourgogne Chardonnay, Back To The Roots, 2022

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Jancis Robinson
Lequin-Colin, Bourgogne Chardonnay, Back To The Roots, 2022

One of our benchmark wines, named because François Lequin bestows on this wine the traditional...

Style

Dry > Sweet

OriginFrance

RegionBurgundy

ColourWhite

ABV12.5%

Bottle75cl

CodeLEQ522

GrapeChardonnay

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