Grenache Blanc

Grenache blanc is a colour mutation of Grenache, and the family resemblance is exact once you know to look. Both ripen late, both accumulate a great deal of sugar, both are drought tolerant enough for the stoniest ground in the southern Rhône and Roussillon, and both make wine that is high in alcohol and low in acidity.

That last pair of traits decides how it is used. On its own and carelessly made it gives a broad, soft, heavy white that falls apart in a warm glass. Picked earlier and blended it becomes something else: it is the volume and the texture in the white wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and Roussillon, with Roussanne, Marsanne, Clairette or Vermentino supplying the acidity and the aroma it lacks.

Its own flavours are quiet and attractive: green apple, fennel, dill and a faintly resinous note, with a full oily texture. Old bush vines in Roussillon, some of them very old, make a concentrated version that carries oak and lees ageing well and is the best argument for taking the grape seriously on its own terms.