2021 Vintage

Glass is getting more expensive, cardboard's getting costlier, fuel prices are going through the roof and labour is hard to find... On top of that, in 2021, French wine-makers were hit with a Spring frost that wiped out a significant part of their crop. What's left, may hardly make a dent in the market and be markedly more expensive to boot, but if the half dozen appellations that Jason and David sample in this episode are anything to go by, the quality hasn't suffered at all. First up is Yapp's own label Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, a crackling, flinty pick me-up you can't put down. Second, a deceptively pale yet aromatic Cotes Du Luberon, from Château La Canorgue, grown from deep-rooted, climate-resistant vine stock is not only delicious but well-placed to hold its own as temperatures and prices rise. Next up, an old favorite of Jason's from Domaine Saparale in Corsica: a coral pink, Corse Sartene - savoury with well-balanced berry fruits, you can taste the sunshine in every sip. La Ficelle is a light-hearted 'vin de soif', from Saint Pourçain, graced with a whacky 'Charlie Hebdo' cartoon that belies the smoothness of its violet and redcurrant palate. Best served 'lightly chilled,' the bottle helpfully bears the legend 'Patron une autre!' just in case you're in no condition to say it yourself. Lastly, from ancient terraces in Rousillon, Les Sorcieres, though made to drink straight from release, is not only impressively earthy, but bursting with well rounded black fruit flavours. On this showing, the 2021 French wine harvest may be small, but it is perfectly formed.