Sauvignon de Touraine 2008 Domaine de la Prevote

OK a few things first. I had to write a slightly long-winded "Domaine de la Prevote 2008 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc", because - bless the French - the "name" of the wine is nothing more than either a village name, a vineyard name, or a stylised brand name. But nothing about the grape, nor the colour. There are strict wine producing laws in France that go back a very long way. So it's not deliberately infuriating, it's just, well, infuriating. If I just wrote Domaine de la Prevote, 999 out of 1,000 people will have no idea what it is (including me). So I have to write Touraine - the "region", to give anyone half a clue. Even then the grape is what we all care about. And finally, frankly we all need to know its a Loire wine.

Anyway, enough about this. The wine itself, as one would expect of a mid-Loire Sauvignon Blanc, is well worth a taste. It is quite a layered Sauvignon Blanc. Not a fat juicy kiwi effort here, no a more restrained, balanced effort. There is a freshness about it, which is immediate, coming from a very pleasant apricot and blossom aroma.

The taste then is subtle, but builds in layers, with a lengthy finish. I'd sip this one in the name of scientific research for as long as anyone cared to supply me samples to assess! It really is quite a charming wine and is another example of - if you want good-quality Loire - you needn't spend top dollar on a Sancerre or a Pouilly. By which I mean for sure this isn't getting you the steeliness or abundant fruit aromas you can find in those leading regions, but you can pop downstream, as it were, and get an equally enticing offering, and this is a very good illustration.

I think majestic supplied this one but you can grab a half decent Touraine from any of the supermarkets. This one's a bit more than most of the others, but for my money it's worth it.