Réserve Sainte Anne Picpoul de Pinet 2023

Description

Picpoul de Pinet (also known as just Picpoul or Piquepoul) is one of my favourite light white wines and perfect for summer quaffing, though just as enjoyable in other seasons! This one, from Réserve St Anne,  is classic Picpoul, produced without the use of oak and with careful temperature control to avoid oxidation so that it tastes really fruity and fresh. Citrus fruits galore with pear and hints of herbal, floral and flinty notes. Although this wine comes from one of the warmest parts of France, cool sea breezes from the Mediterranean ensure that the grapes don’t get too ripe and lose their acidity making this a lovely crisp wine. In fact the grape has quite high natural acidity and the local dialect name of the grape, Piquepoul, means “lip-stinger”. Five months ageing on the lees give the wine some body, complexity and a lovely texture. Simply a gorgeous wine.

A lesser known grape and one of the Languedoc’s oldest varieties, Picpoul de Pinet is relatively rare and good ones are pretty hard to get hold of. The winemaker of a previous Picpoul started selling his grapes to another producer so I had to start my search again. Several years on, after trying a number of potential contenders, I discovered that there are quite a few commercial style Picpouls – this classy version was worth the wait I can assure you. It’s still drinking beautifully which is testament to the fabulous wine-making.

Since 2013 Picpoul de Pinet has become an appellation in its own right, previously having to label its wines Languedoc AOC. Read more about wine appellations in my blog on AOCs & AOPs.