Searching across France for more interesting Sauvignon Blanc

François Lurton’s family has been making wine in Bordeaux since 1897. The ambitious vintner represents the fifth generation to work in wine, but he expanded his horizons to include unique vineyards around the world.

At a recent tasting in Oakville, Ont., Lurton shared insight into how his efforts in Argentina, Chile and Spain influence the wine he makes in his native France.

“My way of working is the sum of the experiences I have had everywhere in the world,” said the owner of three estates in the South of France and international wineries, which he originally purchased with his brother Jacques before the two parted company in 2007.

One of the highlights of his French portfolio is the popular Les Fumées Blanches Sauvignon Blanc. Its global success has made him the largest producer of Sauvignon Blanc in France, he says.

White wine is part of his DNA, he explains, having grown up in PessacLéognan and Entre-deux-Mers, regions in Bordeaux equally adept at producing Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon based wines as well as red blends of Cabernet and Merlot.

Lurton explains that he’s been able to grow the volume and the quality of Les Fumées Blanches since the creation of the Vins du France category. The new appellation of origin designation allows winemakers to produce multi-regional blends they can market with the vintage date and grape variety declared on the label.

Under the old rules, such a blend would have been classified simply as a table wine, a humble designation that won’t allow vintage or grape variety to appear on the label.

Lurton insists he pushed for the Vins du France classification to enable him to produce better quality wines at a budget-friendly price. It allows for better competion with Australia and California, he added.

“From one origin you can make a fabulous wine, but in tiny volumes,” he says. “For me, it has been a great advantage to blend the regions — Loire, Bordeaux, Gascony and Languedoc — to have a wine that’s more complex and more interesting than what I had before.” France BC $14.49 (472555) | AB $15 (472555) MB $14.99 (020292) | ON $13.45 (472555) Lurton has enjoyed success with Sauvignon Blanc by actively seeking grapes from cooler pockets to combine with fruit from warmer vineyards in the south. Not surprisingly, the result is a simple wine with a pleasant mix of fresh herbal notes and ripe tropical fruit flavours. It delivers attractive aromas and a pleasingly fruity texture that’s easy to appreciate.

M. Chapoutier 2015 Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Rouge Cotes du Roussillon Villages

South of France BC $15.79 (040790) | AB $16 (739422) | ON $15.95 (168716) This is a stunning value priced red wine from one of France’s greatest producers. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan grown in Roussillon, this is a ripe red with a seriously concentrated and complex character. Chapoutier is best known for wines from its native Rhône Valley appellations, but its winning ways extend further south. It’s an ideal companion for grilled meat dishes.