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France is peppered with legendary vineyards in regions which inspire excitement and reverence in the hearts of wine lovers around the globe. Vinophiles beat a path through the hot communes of the Medoc, drool in front of the hill at Hermitage and pose for star struck photos by the Le Montrachet vineyard sign. But how many get as far as Franche-Comte or pause for a glass of chunky red in Cabardes? There are a few but not that many: the fair-weather wine drinker tends to stick to the main drag in devotion to his interest in major profiles. Once outside that well-researched and scarily expensive comfort zone, the French regions are much less comprehensively documented and, lacking the multiple endorsements of, say, Bordeaux can be loftily dismissed. Big mistake. Less cramped by tradition and the inflexibilities of rigid AC bureaucracy, there is infinite variety from a realm of permitted grape varieties, more experimentation, considerable passion and, of course, less swanky addresses provide much better value. Sure there are disasters and not all wines are equally good by any means, but that's the point of buying from us: we've filtered out all the stinkers and also-rans so that you don't have to. Try one of La Sauvageonne's expressive, terroir driven beauties, pure southern essence, or Domaine de maubet's fascinating Gros Manseng for a complete change.
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