Chateau Labelle - Terres Basses, Gascogne IGP, France (2022)

TASTING NOTES

To find seriously good value - sometimes you need to look at the under-the-radar parts of France...this is a lovely, fresh and bright white that drinks a little like a toned down Sauvignon Blanc. A blend of  with way more complexity than you would expect from such an affordable wine.

The origin of Domaine de Laballe dates back to 1820 when Jean Dominique Laudet founded the estate to produce the highly sought after grape spirit-Armagnac. While Laballe is historically an estate focused on Armagnac, in the 1970s Noël Laudet was inspired after working at legendary Bordelaise Château Beychevelle to make quality still wines with the native grapes of Gascony. 

Noël’s grandson Cyril has taken over as winemaker, and has followed  in his grandfather’s footsteps making a wide range of quality wines from local grape varieties.  Chateau Laballe is in the process of converting to organic viticulture and continues to be an innovator in Gascony, not only in their production of small batch Armagnac but in making high quality still dry wines at excellent price points.