Vin de Pays du Gers Le Pujalet 'Crisp & Fresh' 2009

Appearance: Yellow.
Aroma: Simple citrus and florals.
Flavour: Exciting citrus zest flavours balanced with slight sweetness. A little spritzy and a good clean finish, too.
Grapefruit, lime, blossom.


Fun, easy-going and unpretentious, this has 'summer wine' written all over it; it's easy to drink, can be served very cold from the fridge and is lower in alcohol than most. It's definitely 'Crisp & Fresh' though not as dry as I was expecting (not that this is a bad thing).
Recommended as a back-up for serving to friends with or without food all summer long.

Wine Name: Vin de Pays du Gers 'Crisp & Fresh'

Producer: Vignoble de Gascogne

Grape/Blend: Colombard, Ugni Blanc

Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 11.5%

Country: France

Bought at: Waitrose

Price: £4.99

Value for money: ♦♦♦♦ Very Good
Over all rating: ♦♦♦ Good

Virtue Chardonnay Colombard NV

Next up is a white blend from Waitrose, marketed under its Virtue brand. In order to reduce carbon emmisions, Waitrose is bulk shipping wines in huge 24,000 Litre tanks from wine producing countries and bottling on British soil using partially-recycled thinner glass bottles.

Appearance: Palest yellow, bright.
Aroma: Appealing citrus fruit.
Flavour:  This is a young, zesty, unoaked wine. It is stongly acidic and I felt this was too much to bear, even with food. Not much else going on: lemon and green, leafy flavours predominate.

Wine Name: Virtue Chardonnay Colombard

Producer: Waitrose own-brand

Grape/Blend: Chardonnay Colombard

Vintage: Non-Vintage

Vintage: 13%

Country: Australia

Bought at: Waitrose

Price: £4.17

Value for money: ♦♦ Average
Over all rating: ♦♦ Average