I have hosted a few top-notch Bordeaux dinners recently and rather than serve the eponymous glass of Champagne before proceedings I decided to welcome guests with a cunning, dry white Bordeaux. I chose G de Guiraud, as I had the Sauternes from the same property lined up for the pudding course. It was a pair of neat Guiraud bookends for a serious flight of reds, which, as you would expect, formed the meat of the dinner.
But it must be noted that this wondrous dry wine triggered widespread adulation. I have been a fan of G for years. A 50/50 blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, which is run around old Sauternes barrels to give it a sheen and a lustre that is remarkable and inquisitive in equal measure.
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Built somewhere between a firm Sancerre and a billowing Pouilly-Fuissé, in terms of weight, this is a deft aperitif that graduated to starters duties as well, to rousing admiration. Google it and you will find that a raft of serious wine merchants sell this magical wine and because I spotted the newly released 2018 vintage at Booths, they get the nod on this occasion. Suffice to say that if 50 keen and experienced palates all fell for this wine as one, it is clearly a thing of true beauty and at £16 it is a rare bargain, too.
2018 G de Château Guiraud, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, France – £16, Booths Supermarkets
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).
This article was originally published in MoneyWeek