#8 Gros Manseng

Leaving Txomin Etxaniz (see varietal #7) and heading not too far across the border into southwest France we find Clos de la Vierge. This challenging bottle will run you $20.

The grape is Gros Manseng. Hints of rubber rise from the glass. My first cautious sip delivers an unfilled promise of fruit closely followed by a dry minerality and then quickly by enamel stripping mouth cramping acidity. I am at a loss to determine a pairing here and as this is a powerfully tannic wine that I do not want to drink alone... I won't.