2021 DOMAINE DUFFOUR COTES DE GASCOGNE BLANC

2021 DOMAINE DUFFOUR COTES DE GASCOGNE BLANC, SOUTHWEST FRANCE. 70% Colombard, 15% Ugni Blanc, and 15% Gros Manseng.

Move over Sauvignon Blanc! Welcome this Cotes de Gascogne Blanc from the hinterlands beyond Bordeaux. This wine delivers sip after glorious sip!

Michel Duffour's excellent dry white is made predominantly with Colombard, along with smaller amounts of Ugni Blanc and Gros Manseng. Notes of melon, clean, pure flavors of citrus fruit, an engaging herbaceous note, and a pleasingly dry finish. It is an ideal summer quaffer! (Importer)

About: The rolling hills in the northern part of the Gers department are covered by sunflowers, corn, and plenty of vines for both Armagnac and excellent wine.

Winemaker Michel Duffour resides here in the small town of Lagraulet-du-Gers. Several decades ago, Duffour took over his father's property, then called Domaine de Saint Lannes, and began dedicating himself to producing quality red and white wines. He replanted the vineyards with Gros Manseng, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tannat. He held on to the old Colombard and Ugni Blanc vines, which he uses for the production of both wine and Armagnac.

Today the family owns 49 hectares of vines and Michel has passed the torch to his son Nicolas and works unofficially at the domaine. They work sustainably and, despite their higher permitted yields in an extremely fertile region, they follow very strict viticultural practices and a high degree of care and dedication goes into the winemaking.

I wish I could be more specific about that winemaking, but on each visit for the past 20 years it seemed the jovial Michel was more interested in bullfights, parties and long dinners than the technical information! But that information is less important with delightful wines like these--suffice it to say there is very little oak used on any of their wines, and this, along with the short macerations, helps preserve the wines' freshness and brightness. (Importer, Charles Neal)