2011 Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Laudun, Domaine Pélaquié, Southern Rhône, France (£11.65, From Vineyards Direct tel. 020 7549 7900 & www.fromvineyardsdirect.com). I stumbled upon this delightful white Rhône at one of this summer’s most elegant wine tastings (the rain held off for once). It occurred to me that we all ought to be drinking more wines like this one in order to vary, what I call, our Wine Diet. You will rarely get the chance to taste white blends made from the heady cocktail of Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Viognier. This is unless, of course, you are partial to white Châteauneuf-du-Pape and then you’ll have to drop well over £25 for the pleasure and very few, to my mind, are worth it. This Laudun (a little-known Southern Rhône region), made by Luc Pélaquié, takes this time honoured recipe and decides not to trouble it with oak barrels thereby keeping every single element of its peachiness and wild flower-imbued aromatics intact. Slippery and lusty on the palate, there is white Burgundy richness here, but it doesn’t seem gaudy or too showy. In its place is a pheromonal attack of scent, a lissom chassis and a food and wine matching repertoire to impress even the most Michelin-starred of chefs. I think that this is a summer cracker, so broaden your horizons to include Laudun today.
