La Colombette - Organic Souvignier Muscaris 2019

Southern France is still one of our favorite places to head for fantastic “value-for-the-money” finds. In other words, wines that only taste expensive. And the Pugibet family – who’ve been making wines at their estate in Béziers since 1890 – are masters of the rare and wonderful.

Here, they’ve married two obscure French grapes, Souvignier Gris and Muscaris, and created a fresh, dry white that’s turning heads at top, international competitions (among its awards is a 91-point gold medal from PIWI Weinpreis 2019). It’s positively loaded with ripe citrus and orchard-fruit character, plus a refreshing verve that’ll get you pouring a second glass – and it’s lovely with everything from roasted chicken to crisp garden salads.

Quick “wine nerd” note: Souvignier Gris is a pink-skinned crossing of red superstar Cabernet Sauvignon and Bronner, a white German variety. And Muscaris is a crossing of Solaris, another white German grape, with popular Muscat (aka Moscato). Definitely not something you’re likely to see on a grocery store shelf and very fun to uncork when you’ve got company coming.