France: South & South-West – White
2017 Gold: 5 Silver: 8 Bronze: 5 Commended: 11
2016 Gold: 4 Silver: 5 Bronze: 1 Commended: 7
On cold winter nights in the Languedoc, vignerons probably scare their children with stories of the dark days of the Sommelier Wine Awards 2013 and 2014 when the region’s whites managed not a single Gold medal. So this record haul of five was heartening indeed.
On the downside, quality in the region still varies wildly – our tasters had to do a lot of weeding out to get to the 18 medals that we see here. But the plus is that this is one of the few areas on the planet still able to make our panel’s eyebrows shoot northwards (for the right reasons) when they see the price. All but four of our medal winners were under £10, and more than half were under £8, which is astonishing these days.
Generally, our tasters preferred the richer wines (Viognier, in particular, seems to have liked the last two vintages) and were less keen on the Picpouls.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘There was a wide range of flavours, bouquets and prices here. Up to £10 they can be sold as “sommelier’s pick” wines or by the glass; after that it’s more for connoisseurs.’ Alessandro de Angelis, Jamavar
‘The wines that we all enjoyed tended to be fruit-forward… and that came out even at the lower prices. The ones we didn’t like tended to be trying too hard, or were a bit clumsy or hot.’ Laura Rhys MS, team leader
‘Even on a blind tasting we knew where we were with these wines. Oily, creamy and rich – these are wines that are really easy to pair with food, without paying big money.’ Carlos Ferreira, The Sign of the Don
‘With white wines from this region you’re hoping for fresh citrus fruit, some more complex baked apple notes and a bit of viscosity on the palate.’ James Hocking, The Vineyard Group
‘I struggle a bit with Viognier, but there are people who really get behind this. There’s definitely a market for them.’ J Casey Evans, St Swithins Wine Shippers
‘Ours was a pretty bad flight. Some bitterness… a lot were just flavoured water.’ Harry Crowther, M Wine Store