French White Wines for Summer Pours | Wine Enthusiast
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French White Wines for Summer Pours

Whether you like to make all of your summer plans in advance or find yourself on an impromptu adventure, it’s important to always have a bottle of wine chilled and ready to serve.

To make sure you’re ready for wherever the season takes you, we’ve pulled together a list of refreshing and crisp whites that are perfect for warm weather.

Bordeaux

Château Ballan-Larquette 2017 Bordeaux Blanc; $15, 90 points. This rounded wine is ripe, full and offers clean, perfumed green and white stone fruits. It has plenty of acidity as well as riper apricot and pear flavors. With its richness, it is suitable for food. Exclusive Imports, Inc. Best Buy.—Roger Voss

Château Rauzan Despagne 2017 Réserve (Bordeaux Blanc);$20, 89 points. Ripe, soft and well balanced, this wine is already delicious. Layers of apricot, white peach and quince come with just the right amount of acidity and lemon zest.  Drink now. Fruit of the Vines, Inc.—R.V.

Château la Freynelle 2017 Bordeaux Blanc; $14, 87 points. The Barthe family vineyard, under the same ownership since 1789, is in an ideal place for white wines. Spice, ripe white fruits and acidity all come into play. The lively texture and fruitiness enhance this lightly perfumed wine. Drink from late 2018. Aquitaine Wine Company.—R.V.

Maison Bertrand Ravache 2017 Les Hauts de la Gaffelière Sélection d’Excellence (Bordeaux Blanc); $14, 87 points. For pure, young Sauvignon Blanc, this is a soft, rounded wine. It is attractive to drink immediately, with quince, apple and lemon flavors. The final taste is packed with fruit. Cognac One, LLC.—R.V.

Rhône Valley

Clos de L’Oratoire des Papes 2016 White (Châteauneuf-du-Pape); $55, 93 points. While this dry wine’s crisp apple, white grapefruit and pear notes are understated on the nose and palate, its opulent, creamy mouthfeel is the showcase. Full bodied and honeyed yet not heavy, it shows hints of cashew, earth and saline complexities in development. Although drinking elegantly now, it should be even better from 2026. Vinum International. Cellar Selection.—Anna Lee C. Iijima

Domaine de la Présidente 2015 Grands Classiques White (Châteauneuf-du-Pape); $35, 91 points. This wine’s rounded pressed yellow apple and hazelnut notes are brightened by fresh white blossom, lemon and salty mineral tones. Dry in style, with a silky, full-bodied cling, it finishes with subtly lingering dried thyme and sage notes. Saranty Imports.—A.L.C.I.

Les Vignerons du Castelas 2017 White (Côtes du Rhône); $13, 90 points. Exuberant whiffs of pink grapefruit and white blossom abound in this unctuous, full-bodied white wine. Its fresh pear and citrus flavors are crisply concentrated, fringed by lemon pith and a slightly waxy, mineral finish. Drink now–2021. La Ville Imports. Best Buy.—A.L.C.I.

Côtes de Provence

Domaine Houchart 2017 White (Côtes de Provence); $17, 88 points. Clairette and Rolle, both classic local white grapes, have produced a wine with crispness, herbal flavors and delicate acidity. The wine is full of peach and citrus flavors along with great freshness. Drink from late 2018. David Milligan Selections.—R.V.

Château de la Noblesse 2016 White (Bandol); $25, 87 points. Clairette, Ugni Blanc and Rolle are a combination common to white Provence wines, giving an herbal character as well as crisp acidity and a creamy texture. The wine is ripe with touches of tropical fruits as well as green fruits in the background. Drink now. T. Elenteny Imports.—R.V.