Ugni Blanc: Not just for Cognac!

My husband and I are on a quest to try as many new grape varietals and wines as possible, and now I have another checked off my list.

This unique white wine, the Domaine Mont de Marie Anatheme Blanc 2012, is made with Ugni Blanc grapes. The same grape goes by the name Trebbiano in Italy, where it originated, and is Italy's most widely planted white grape.

Ugni Blanc is primarily used to make Cognac, which is why I was surprised to see a wine made from it, but it made me even more curious to try it.

We found it at MacArthur Beverages in Washington, DC, on a quest to find unfiltered wines (more about that in a future post), and also because we had never been there and wanted to check out their selection. We have been back many times since, I strongly suggest checking it out!

The Wine

The winemaker's name is Thierry Forestier. He began making wine in 2004 in the village of
Souvignargues in the sub-region known as the Terres de Sommières in France. 

No herbicides or insecticides are used and the fermentation process takes place in stainless steel tanks, so no oak, with little intervention and it is bottled with no fining or filtering and a very small dose of sulfur.

Tasting Notes: The wine is slightly cloudy and off-dry. It's medium bodied and plump, with a notes of moss and earth and a hint of lemon on the nose, and on the palate, anise, candied apricot, pineapple and star fruit. It's a French table wine, which normally I am not too crazy about, but this is the best one I've had by far.

We purchased it on sale for $12.99 at MacArthur, a great price. And it's truly different from any white I have ever tried. I feel like I have been saying that a lot lately but I mean it every time. 

I will cover more info about unfiltered and natural wines in a future post.

Cheers!