With the arrival of the gorgeous "Cassandre, a Vermentino, no less, I've put together four different white wines from the increasingly popular Dissenters range.
Maison Ventenac, a young and dynamic project based in the vineyards of the Ramé family in Cabardès, just north of the city of Carcassonne, are doing great things at the moment.
As with the other wines from The Dissenters range, the Ramé family maintain their best vineyard sites in a caring, sustainable manner. Organic viticulture, indigenous yeasts, a respect for biodiversity, with minimum addition of sulfites, and not too much in the way of oak influence.
We really love and admire the up front and no nonsense messaging in their Dissenters range and their reds have a purity, balance, and simplicity that can be hard to find at this price point. It reflects the Ramé family's pushing the boundaries to find ways to express their interpretation of the land.
In this case, we have four whites, doubling up with Carole & Marie.
Carole (2 bottles). A brilliant southern French white that shows how well the Chardonnay grape can perform in a maritime climate. Freshness balanced by ripeness gives this wine a tension and lively mouthfeel to match the familiar yellow fruit flavours of Chardonnay.
Marie (2 bottles). Bright, floral, fresh and full of simple joy, it is a balanced wine that you can imagine with every casserole, pâté, baguette, onion soup or escargot that you've ever had (or imagined). An atypical blend, it is citrus fresh with notes of apple and grapefruit over what is essentially a simple but delicious palate.
Préjugés (1 bottle). Olivier found that he didn't like barrel aged white wines, one his prejudices. So he set out to prove himself wrong. Or right... This is fresh, mineral and crisp Chardonnay that is a superb balance of place and winemaking, marrying maritime influences with Burgundian winemaking practices.
Cassandre (1 bottle). A delicious white made from the ultra-trendy Vermentino grape variety, showing freshness, texture and depth of flavour in a really classy and delicious glass of sunshine! Flavours of white peach, lime peel, orange blossom, it has a mouth filling palate that is balanced by a lovely fresh tension.
