Mas Carlot 2006 Clairette de Bellegarde

The 2009 Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine Book says of Clairette de Bellegarde: "Obscure AC nr Nimes: fresh white."

Before opening the bottle, I was tempted to plan posting "Mostly harmless" and leave it at that.

Not a highly-regarded grape.

Pale piss-yellow color, petillant bubbles form on the glass.

Fresh grapefruit smell, apple, floral hints.

Mild grapefruit and green apple flavors, alcohol warmth builds from the middle, a bit of carbonic acid produced by the petillance is appeciated.

An acceptable bottle for $16.99. I admit, the only reason I bought it was that I'd never tasted this grape. I doubt I'll do so again, but this wasn't the flabby horror that I'd come to expect and displayed some grace and balance of fruit and acid.

So rather than a dismissive "Mostly harmless", I'll close with a comprehensive "Interesting"!