That saucy French novelist Collette was a complete sucker for a Jurançon…..from her writings it seems like she would drop her knickers as soon as she heard the cork pop from the bottle, declaring the wine séduction du vert galant. The local producers picked up on her toey endorsement and claimed the wine as an aphrodisiac of sorts with posters quickly printed up proclaiming “Manseng means Jurançon means Sex”.

I hope….should you pop the cork on the following wine with your significant other….that it has the same effect. Of course a wine with these sort of powers is best consumed within the confines of your own home…..god knows what could happen if you order it off a wine list.

The Manseng of course refers to Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng….two of the five permitted grape varieties in this white wine only AOC….. the Jurançon. See what I did there?……Jurançon…… this thing here ..”ç” …yeah that thing under the c…..is a cédille…..and if your French is anywhere as bad as mine you might be wondering how to pronounce that. The answer is just like in garçon or façade or the French art-rock band çonic youth. Lesson over.

The Jurançon is way down in the south-west of France at the foot of the Pyrenees, pretty much in between Bayonne and Toulouse so we’re talking Basque country. While it is a region noted for its sought after sweet wines it also turns out some beautiful dry whites that are well worth checking out. Chateau Jolys has been on the scene since 1936 and at 36 hectares of south/south-west facing slopes around the village of Chapelle de Rousse , it is the largest privately owned holding in the region.

This particular wine is a blend of 50% Gros Manseng & 50% Petit Manseng….destemmed, gentley pressed and fermented at low temperatures….all the vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks.

Light gold/yellow in the glass with lots going on aromatically….it’s like a flower-seller and a fruit-monger had a crash on the way to the markets….on the one hand there’s some rich, voluptuous stone-fruity characters….juicy peach and nectarine, a dash of pear & guava followed by a blast of citrus….grapefruit and mandarin with some pithy lemon for good measure. Hints of dried tangerine peel, honeysuckle, jasmine, frangipani,yellow plum, lemon curd and stone.

Great clarity on the palate with an abundance of rich, luscious fruit flavours – peach, yellow plum, pear, paw paw, grapefruit and mandarin appear on the palate with focus and drive. There is texture and a smooth, energetic line through to the mid-palate which shows hints of citrus rind, white flowers, clotted cream, wet stone, honeysuckle and light, diaphanous herb & spice notes. Bright acidity provides the scaffolding to support these opulent flavours and the wine finishes bone dry…..kind of belying both the nose and the initial fruit attack on the palate. While not overly complex there’s a lot to like about this wine….. delicious drinking, amazing value, full of character and chocoblock full of magic sexual powers.

Price: $20 – Closure: Nomacork – Alcohol: 13% – Source: sample – Importer: DicoverVin

And now for some çonic youth…….