While Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux red wines enjoy a well-deserved reputation for offering excellent value and pleasure for money, the appellation’s white wines are less well-known. It is high time to discover these particularly fruity wines, with their citrus fruit aromas and flavours, their intensity and their refinement, like those made by Christophe Terrigeol at Château des Matards.
A white gem in a red setting
The surface area planted with white grape varieties in the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux appellation is relatively small compared with red grape varieties. Small but precious: Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux white wine is a gem prized by winegrowers like Christophe Terrigeol, half of whose vineyard is given over to white grapes. “All the white wines you taste from the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux appellation have something special, they’re all interesting”, he says. In his winery at Château des Matards, Christophe Terrigeol enjoys making a wine which he describes as “a treasure, because it benefits from a truly special climate and terroir, using grapes which bring the fruit aromas and flavours consumers are looking for nowadays”.
A favourable terroir for the expression of white wines
“The Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux terroir brings out the best in white wines”, says Christophe Terrigeol. Clay-gravel soils with less limestone than elsewhere produce highly aromatic Sauvignon-based wines. Soils with more limestone, better for Semillon, produce equally interesting wines, with fresh, tropical and citrus fruit notes. The fresh and generous aromas and flavours bring “a lovely, harmonious balance between the fruit, the nose and the palate”, explains Christophe Terrigeol. He adds that, matured in oak barrels, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux white wines “gain in power and length”. They will give of their best after cellaring for four to six years.
Varied food and wine pairings
Although some white wines will keep for several years, they can of course be enjoyed young. Christophe Terrigeol has no doubts on the subject: “In our range of white wines, you can always find the right style to go with the food you’re going to eat”. A Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux 2013 white is perfect for an aperitif or with seafood or, for a change, with fresh goat’s cheese at the end of a meal. “The 2013 vintage is more floral than some other vintages, with notes of white blossom and citrus fruit such as lemon and grapefruit”, comments Christophe Terrigeol. For hard white cheese or with creamy or heartier food, he advises “a white wine matured in oak and cellared for two or three years”. He should know !
Find out more about Christophe in a video (below) and on Blaye Friday, with a special recipe !
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