Grande Réserve de Gassac Blanc 2016

The wine’s humble IGP status (equivalent of the old vin de pays) belies the fact that this lush, exotic fruit white is from some of southern France’s best terroir. In 1970 Aimé and Véronique Guibert, former glovemakers to European royalty, bought a chunk of the sleepy Gassac valley. They only discovered its true value when a visiting friend, the eminent geology professor Henri Enjalbert, remarked how the soil reminded him of the terroir in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. This is now a top estate – some of its cuvées cost well over £100 – but the Guiberts’ son Samuel created this Réserve exclusively for us. It has all the pedigree of the top wine but at an affordable price. Complex, weighty and rich, it’s a fine match for white meats or fish pie.