Verget Vin de France Blanc Au Fil du Temps

Details

Winemaker Guffens has recently freshened up his multi-vintage ‘solera’ with some Sauvignon, giving this current bottling some delicious zip. It’s still Marsanne-based, contributing some 40% of the blend, with decreasing amounts of Roussanne, Viognier, Chardonnay and, now, Sauvignon Blanc. For those new to this wine, it works something like a perpetual blend (as opposed to a true solera), whereby the ‘mother’ base is refreshed each year with new vintage wines and a percentage is bottled off each year. The juice is stored in 200-hectolitre variable capacity tanks on lees, so the wine stays fresh and keeps developing. This, and the different varietal proportions added each year, means that there is a degree of vintage variation with each new bottling. The aged material brings complexity and texture, the young wine freshness and minerality. Trust us, it really works. Quirky, yes. Deliciously so.