Viognier Vieilles Vignes 2021, Mont Rocher, France

All those apricot blossom scents of Viognier without the heft

Say hello to your new fridge-door white. The one you keep in there for when friends drop round unexpectedly. Or you need a glass of something nice and cheerful for midweek relaxation but don’t want to crack into the best stuff. We’ve all been there.

This wine is from the Languedoc and we could pretend that some horny-handed sons and daughters of toil are behind it but in truth, it is made by one of our wine suppliers to hit a good price point. Having said that, the vines are old (usually new plantings make value range wines), are dry-farmed (using minimal water) and bush trained (needing lower human intervention).

Viognier can lack acidity, but this has some zip to it. All in all, a neat little drink.