La Valinière

Varietals

70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon

About this Wine

Full and fruity this wine owes its character to its blend. Green Apple and Lemongrass fill the palate along with a hint of ripe Grapefruit. The wine has a round and full finish with acidity and a little creaminess. The Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine fruit while the Semillon fills it out making it a more rounded wine. It will pair well with Oysters or a Goat Cheese Salad.

The red wine from this winemaker was one of the first wines we brought to the US. We were invited over to his house for some Oysters one Sunday not long after moving to Bordeaux. I brought a bottle of Chardonnay with me and he asked if I had ever had White Bordeaux with Oysters. I hadn't and confessed I typically would go for a Stainless Steel fermented Chardonnay. He joked that the area for the wine I bought was a full day from anywhere that had oysters. I learned that day that White Bordeaux should be front of mind as a pairing wine for foods like this and that some day I would introduce his white wine to America.

Dune

With less than 10% of the overall production, White Wines in Bordeaux do not get near the attention they deserve. A lot of white wine is consumed in the Bordeaux area, and in fact many of the most expensive wines sold from Bordeaux each year are white. Bordeaux is about an hour from the sea and for the last century this seaside area has been a retreat for people all over France. With scenic areas like the Dune du Pilat, beautiful beaches and fresh oysters everywhere, it is easy to see why this area has become to Bordeaux what the Hamptons has been for New York and where a lot of White Bordeaux is consumed.