WINE OF THE WEEK: Le Chant des Roses Gewurztraminer 2024, Pays d'Oc, France

£9.99, House of Townend

Gewurztraminer seldom makes it as Wine of the Week, not because I don’t like it – I do – but because it’s a difficult grape variety to get right, especially at a moderate price. All the more reason, then, for choosing Le Chant des Roses Gewurztraminer at its very moderate price of £9.99 (or even £10.99-£11.95 – scroll down for retailers).

The 2024 is an A* example of this aromatic variety: dry, refreshing and light on its feet, with classic Gewurztraminer lychee, rose and lokum perfume and mouthwatering lime-zest vibrancy.

Too often, Gewurztraminer wines come across as a bit heavy and cloying because they’re slightly sweet. There’s nothing wrong with leaving some residual sugar in a wine (i.e. not fermenting out all the grape sugars), but the sweetness needs to be in balance with the acidity and alcohol.

Le Chant des Roses is all the more impressive because it comes from Languedoc, way south of Gewurtraminer’s heartland in Alsace. It’s here in the Pays d'Oc that Xavier Roger goes all out to preserve the aromas and freshness of the night-harvested grapes, vinifying the juice at low temperature and ageing the wine on its fine lees for three months to enhance the texture.

It makes a reviving aperitif, but can also be paired with food: South East Asian spices (not searingly hot), gazpacho, tomato salads and salsas, petits pois and Little Gem quarters stewed in butter and mint, onion tart (with/without cheese), anchovy-stuffed olives, seafood dishes such as prawn canalones (or cannelloni), and spicy chicken salads. 13.5%. Empty bottle weight: 426g.

Le Chant des Roses Gewurztraminer 2024, Pays d’Oc, France

£9.99, House of Townend, £10.99, Wildflower Wines, £11.49, The Whalley Wine Shop, £11.95, Vino Gusto, £63.18 for 6, Amersham Fine Wines

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