French wine has always been popular on these shores and we are prepared to pay a lot more for it — upwards of £9 a bottle. Compare that to the pathetic average we pay for a bottle of Italy’s best, just £6.53, while Australia’s not much better at £6.62. It’s all down to centuries of French natural selection: planting the right grapes in the right patch of dirt on the right slope and then, care of endless trial and error, vinifying the results to get the very best from the vines. It’s this sacred notion of terroir, or sense of place, enshrined in the appellation laws of France, that has kept the country ahead of its competitors.
The familiarity our nearest wine-producing neighbour’s wines, styles and grapes is another big draw. At the top end, most wine drinkers know what they can expect from the classic French regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône. Indeed, with more great wines made in France than anywhere else in the world, there will always be drinkers for whom no other country’s wines will do.
Equally, down at the everyday drinking level, most of us know what a simple yet sparky French sauvignon should taste like, or a plump Gallic merlot, or citrussy chardonnay. Alongside rejuvenating old vineyards and planting new ones, a more polished, restrained yet experimental era of French wines has begun, still with flavour but with oak used as seasoning, rather than centre stage, adding up to the sort of understated Gallic elegance that makes you want to not just reach for a second glass but drain the whole bottle.
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Given the variety and diversity of today’s French wines, it would take several lifetimes to taste the lot and, frankly, you’d never get bored. Of all the French wine styles in vogue, it’s sales of crémant, the next best thing to champagne, that are rocketing. Crémant de Limoux from the Languedoc makes an intriguing change to those of Burgundy and the Loire. Helpfully, Waitrose has knocked £4 off its Cremant de Limoux, Cuvée Royale. Now £10, it’s a bold, fresh brown bread-scented chardonnay-led version that needs to be served cold, is best drunk with food and will still be too punchy for some.
From the other end of the country, the Loire’s delicious, crunchy, red berry-fruited cabernet francs make perfect chilled reds. Nab the 2023 Lulu l’Alouette Chinon, a herby, organic, red berry charmer from Majestic at £13.50 a bottle. It’s Burgundy, though, where ancient and modern Gallic expertise shines. Take your pick from the rich, nutty yet minerally charge of Asda’s classy 2023 Brocard Premier Cru Chablis (£22.92) and the smoky, mature, truffle elegance of Domaine Lécheneaut’s 2021 Côtes de Nuits Villages, Le Clos de Magny (montrachetwine.com, £35).
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French star buys
2023 La Chevalière Syrah, Patrick Jasmin, France
12 per cent, yapp.co.uk, £19.95
This seriously good Collines Rhodaniennes syrah punches well above its weight with lavender and tangy red cherry.
2022 Santenay 1er Beauregard, Fornerot, France
13.5 per cent, thewinesociety.com, £32
Jérôme Fornerot’s white St Aubin rocks but this leafy, floral star shows he makes tasty red burgundy too.
2023 Finest Chablis, France
12.5 per cent, Tesco, £15
Nowt beats this lively, steely, saline-edged La Chablisienne co-op chablis with seafood — try it.
Crémant de Loire Rosé, France
12 per cent, Asda, £9.36
Can’t afford champagne? Plump for a pretty, blush pink, rose petal-scented cabernet franc crémant instead.
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This week’s supermarket star buys
2023 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Orange, US
11.5 per cent, Tesco, £13 down from £15.25
More than £2 cheaper than it was last month, this strong, smoky, tea-leaf orange wine loves big food.
2024 Irresistible Assyrtiko, Greece
13 per cent, Co-op, £9 down from £10
Plumped up with a dab of viognier, dive into this seductive, dry, summery, samphire and basil-licked assyrtiko.
2024 Deluxe South African Fairtrade Chenin Blanc
13.5 per cent, Lidl, £6.99
One of the best whites on show at a recent Lidl tasting, with delicious, buttery chenin fruit and a tickle of spice.
2024 Found Marzemino, Italy
11.5 per cent, Marks & Spencer, £8
Unoaked, ripe, yet earthy, red, made exclusively from the marzemino grape, with easy-drinking, plummy fruit.
Dining and Cooking