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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From a two-hectare sheltered plot on limestone, with vines between 50 and 100 years old...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 12%
Bottle75cl
CodeCHZ121
GrapeChardonnay

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Wholly owned by the family since 1933, a stony and rocky vineyard, hence the name. About 55% in...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV13.5%
En Premier Case75cl
CodeFAJ122
GrapeChardonnay

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From a small, half a hectare parcel, on clay and limestone planted in the late 1960s. Stainless...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 13%
Bottle75cl
CodeSAB122
GrapeChardonnay

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Champlots lies on a south-west facing slope above the hamlet of Gamay with stony, calcareous...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 13%
Bottle75cl
CodeCLB322
GrapeChardonnay

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An elegant expression of Chardonnay with notes of acacia and intense green apple. Invigorating....
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeCLB021
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
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeROB222
GrapeChardonnay

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From a plot on the plain just below the village of Puligny, incorporating some Chardonnay...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV %
Bottle75cl
CodeHUB122
GrapeChardonnay

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From a plot on the plain just below the village of Puligny, incorporating some Chardonnay...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeHUB522
GrapeChardonnay


The Fourreys own a healthy 3.60 hectares of Côte de Lechet, divided amongst six plots over the...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 13%
Bottle75cl
CodeFRR722
GrapeChardonnay

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Although not shown on the label (François Lequin chooses not to use organic cultivation as a...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeLEQ822
GrapeChardonnay

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From south facing vines at 380m. on the lower slopes of the Roche de Vergisson, this is one of...
OriginFrance
RegionBurgundy
ColourWhite
ABV 13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeSAU422
GrapeChardonnay

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The second wine of Lafaurie-Peyraguey, a Grand Cru Classe of the Sauternes with 18 hectares of...
OriginFrance
RegionBordeaux
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeCLP119
GrapeSemillon, Sauvignon Blanc & Muscadelle