A Blend of Confusion

2004 Domaine de Pellehaut
Harmonie de Gascogne, Vin de Pays
$8.99
Shane’s Notes

We tore the foil off and were amused to encounter our second SupremeCorq®. We just didn’t expect to find a plastic cork on a bottle of French wine.

The aroma is dominated by grapefruit and is woody and smoky. One sip and the flavor of grapefruit floods the palate. The palate is also grapey, tart, and citrussy, with a touch of vanilla. The finish is minerally. This was definitely a very interesting wine.

Jen guessed the primary varietal was Sauvignon Blanc, and I refused to guess. I had never tasted anything quite like this wine. I did some research on the internet which only led to confusion. K&L, where we purchased the wine, labels it a Sauvignon Blanc*, while an article on MSNBC.com lists the varietals as “a mix of Chardonnay and several local grapes…”** I tried the website on the cork, and the website said the wine is crafted from “Fruit de l’assemblage de Chardonnay et de cépages locaux (Ugni-Blanc, Colombard, Gros-Manseng, Folle Blanche et Sauvignon)”*** I don’t speak French but using my scant knowledge of Latin, recognizing cognates (hopefully none of them false) and using my knowledge of varietals, this seems to back up the MSNBC article. However, the “et Sauvignon” may refer to Sauvignon Blanc and of course, none of the sources mentions percentages.

*www.klwines.com/product.asp?sku=1015295
**www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8557148/, “Sip-sational! You’ll love these ‘apertif wines,” July 12, 2005, article by Jon Bonne
***www.pellehaut.com