Domaine de Cabarrouy Ambre de Samonios 2015. I had never tried a Jurançon until a couple of years ago. I decided to buy a mixture from Domaine de Cabarrouy after reading positive reviews in the French wine press and because (shallow bastard that I am) I liked the label. It depicts a Bearded Vulture (Cabarrouy), a magnificent bird with a two-metre wingspan sometimes seen in the mountains nearby. Although not a killer itself, it – get this – eats any animal bones that it finds lying around. I’d dearly love to see one – there was great excitement when one was spotted in the Peak District a few years ago.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, wine. This is beautiful, made entirely from passerilaged (hope that’s a verb) Petit Manseng and cost me 16€ from the vineyard. It’s like a slightly sweeter than demi-sec Vouvray with an almost pine-like edge (if you are thinking retsina, nothing like that…) I also bought a few bottles of their Classique, made from non-dried Gros Manseng. Curiously, that tasted sweeter. Couldn’t work that out. Sadly, they’re all gone now.