Round, full, with notes of white-fleshed fruit: Grenache Blanc brings body to three of the estate's whites, from Tête de Bélier white to Bib'Art white.
Grenache Blanc belongs to the same family as Grenache Noir, the founding grape of Puech-Haut's reds and rosés. Originally from Spain, where it is called garnacha blanca, it has the same resistance to heat and wind, and thrives in the southern sun. Only the skin of its grapes is different: light in colour, it makes white wines. In France, it is grown mainly in Roussillon, the southern Rhône Valley and the Languedoc.
Its wines are full and round, with aromas of white-fleshed fruit and flowers, and plenty of body on the palate, that impression of a wine that fills the mouth. In a blend, it brings this body and fruit; other, livelier grapes add freshness or aromas.
At the estate, it goes into three whites, each blended with other white grapes.
Tête de Bélier white. The white version of the flagship cuvée has a golden colour and notes of smoke, yellow-fleshed fruit, honey and gingerbread. Grenache Blanc sits alongside the estate's Rhône grapes, and this blend gives it more complexity.
Argali white. A clear, crystalline white with an intense nose of exotic fruit and citrus. It blends several of the estate's white grapes, including Grenache Blanc and the Rolle grown at Theyron.
Bib'Art white. A fresh white with green glints and notes of white-fleshed fruit. The Bib'Art is a cask-shaped wine fountain, dressed in a work by an artist; the estate has released nearly 200 designs since 2007, each with its own artwork.
The estate's vines are farmed sustainably, Grenache Blanc's like all the others. The soils are worked mechanically and, from autumn to spring, a flock of eighty sheep, led by a shepherd, grazes there instead of weedkillers.
These whites go well with grilled fish, seafood, herb-scented Mediterranean cooking and fresh goat's cheese. Serve them chilled but not ice-cold, so that their fruit and floral aromas can come through.
