WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Bellegarde Pierre Blanche Jurançon Sec 2023, Jurançon, France

£21.50, Yapp Brothers

The first wine I ever took to my mythical desert island was a Jurançon Sec and, while some wines have been replaced by new finds and loves over the years, I can confidently say that this one-of-a-kind dry white from the deep southwest of France will always have a place.

It’s a wine that combines riveting juiciness and tanginess with a waxy rich texture and, in the case of Domaine Bellegarde Pierre Blanche 2023, combines the tanginess and texture with fragrant, ripe quince and lime, touches of pineapple and spicy almond, and intense, crystalline minerality.

Pierre Blanche is a 60:40 blend of Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, the main grape varieties of this historic region where the vineyards were some of the first to be officially rated in France back in the 14th century. (Jurançon’s next big moment was in 1553 when it was the wine pressed to the lips of the infant Henri IV at his baptism.)

The Pierre Blanche vines are 40–50 years old and this wine, the Labasse family’s dry Jurançon (they make some glorious sweet Jurançon, too), is named after the pale, pebbly, clay-limestone soils. The 12-ha domaine has been in the family since 1920.

The grapes are hand picked in the latter part of October, which might seem late so far south, especially on Bellegarde’s sunny south-facing slopes, but Jurançon, in the Béarn west and south of Pau, is a hilly, relatively cool region and both the Mansengs are fairly late ripening, Gros Manseng especially. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts and ageing on lees take place over a period of a year in demi-muids (600l oak barrels) and amphorae.

At two years old, the 2023 is perfect now, but it could be cellared rewardingly for four or five more years. It pairs well with poached salmon with hollandaise, other sauced fish and shellfish, lemony and/or creamy chicken dishes, roast pork and pork chops, tartiflette, flamiche aux poireaux, cheesy baked onions, fondue and firm cheeses, especially sheep’s such as the local Issau Iraty and Spain’s Manchego. 13.5%. Empty bottle weight: 587g.

Domaine Bellegarde Pierre Blanche Jurançon Sec 2023, Jurançon, France

£21.50, Yapp Brothers

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