Les Champs Libres (by Lafleur) 2022

The 2022 Les Champs Libres was picked on 24 August. Very delicate and refined on the nose, this opens beautifully, with white peach and orange blossom, and, again, hints of wild peach coming through with time. The palate is well-defined with a touch of stem ginger, almost Burgundian toward the finish. The peach theme continues, with hints of ginger and a touch of almond. This is going to be completely irresistible - don't say I didn't warn you.

Made of 100% Sauvignon Blanc, the Les Champs Libres 2022 Blanc reveals aromas of verbena, lemon oil, kumquat, jasmine, spring flowers and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and incisive, it’s built around bright, racy acids and has an ultra-refined texture along with a resonant, perfumed finish. This gorgeous Les Champs Libres represents the essence of what can be produced with grapes coming from a great limestone terroir that also benefit from the impressive expertise of the Guinaudeau family.

A complex and soulful white with sliced apple and pear. Lime, too. Medium- to full-bodied, solid and layered. White pepper and chalk. 100% sauvignon blanc.

As ever one of my favourite Bordeaux whites, this is truly impressive, conveying the flesh, spice and structure that give you a clue to the vintage conditions, but coupled with white pear, cooling mint leaf, lemongrass and citrus. Clay over limestone soils help solve the challenges of the year, and perhaps the Sancerre clones add distinctiveness also but what is clear is that as ever the Lafleur team shows that you don't have to accept what the vintage gives you, that you can work through the pitfalls and find the brilliance within. Olivier Trégoat part of the planting team, but other than that no outside consultant.