More Chardonnay: France, Spain, Chile.

Languedoc-wines.com/Limoux

Following on from my '50 years of Chardonnay' in Australia feature, five other gratuitous Chardies enjoyed recently include:

Le Stopgap Chardonnay 2021 Vin de France, Jacques Depagneux (13% abv): 'Much of the blend comes from Limoux with a little from the central Languedoc and essential dash from the Mâconnais...'

Australia: 50 years of Chardonnay.

Indeed, fifty years young. As Wine Australia put it in the intro to a recent celebratory tasting: "With the first varietally-labelled Chardonnay produced in Australia in 1972, now is the perfect time to revisit the story of Australia’s most iconic white wine. From the first vine cuttings in the 1830s to the big buttery wines of the 1990s, to today’s regionally distinct refined styles, Australian Chardonnay has come a long way."

(Tyrrell's, Leeuwin, Forest Hill, Penfolds, Moorooduc, Giant Steps, Shaw&Smith, Tolpuddle. And a wine geek warning!)

Spain: Cava Cabré & Sabaté.

Cabré & Sabaté is yet another packaging guise created by bespoke-label Cava maestro Jaume Serra for Mercadona and other supermarkets in Spain; this impressive winery also produces very good fizz for several UK retailers (Asda, Aldi, Morrison's...).

Grenache: white rosé and red.

Lo Cometa Garnatxa Blanca 2020 Terra Alta, Catalunya (organic, 13.5% abv): Which is Catalan for Grenache blanc, this unusual full-bodied dry white is more about flavour and texture than aroma. Subtle honeyed notes with yeast-lees, white peach and pears edged with aniseed and blanched nuts; quite powerful while juicy and concentrated with lingering mineral freshness. £7.25 The Wine Society (out of stock, wait for the 2021), €6-€7 Germany (Lidl has some 2019 left), Netherlands €9.

Serious rosé

For those of us who enjoy (proper) dry rosé all year round, not just in summer (it's a good compromise for a white wine drinker and a red wine drinker sharing the same meal and bottle), it's no surprise that 'serious' rosé does exist. But some people in France and someone in Italy had the bright idea of creating the Rosés de Terroirs association as a collaborative marketing project to promote the regions and producers who are famous for making this type of full-on pink wine.