Chateau La Louviere Graves 2002 from France

A wine from one of France’s classic areas this week. It has a straw yellow colour and a bouquet of citrus fruit and peaches. On the palate there’s a minerally background to the fruit and a definite oaky taste.

It’s 12½ alcohol,perfectly balanced with crisp acidity. The finish is long and tasty, just the wine to go with fish and sea-food dishes.

Graves, French for gravely terrain,is the name of the region extending 30 miles S.E.from Bordeaux along the left bank of the R. Garonne . This is the only region in the Bordeaux district which is famous for its red and white wines.

In 1987 the Pessac–Léognan region was recognised as superior to all others and given its own A.O.C. It’s here that the famous wine maker and writer André Lurton bought the property in 1965 which continually turns out wine of this quality.

The soil here has particularly good drainage and wines for white wine, which are sauvignon and sémillon , are grown on the sandier sites. Barrel fermentation and maturation are common here. This wine was aged for twelve months on full lees which were stirred periodically. Lurton’s wine is a little unusual in being 100% sauvignon and oak aged . It’s a combination that has certainly worked for this is a fine wine .

It’s £6.99 in Sainsburys.

14/03/06