Domaine Cauhapé, Quintessence du Petit Manseng, Jurançon, Southwest France, France 2017

Jurancon is not a large appellation, and its little Pyrenean corner of France's South West is easily overlooked ... until, that is, you taste a Jurancon of this quality, and you realise that you have a giant among dessert wines in your glass. Not in terms of unction and richness: it's not a steamroller. But its aromatic refinement is second to none, thanks to its long, lingering season and the extraordinary potential of the Petit Manseng variety. One sniff of this wine, with its layers of lemon, frangipane and gardenia, will stop you in your tracks, and the palate -- at first richly aromatic, then long and flavoury, both luscious and cleansing -- more than lives up to the aromatic promise. Few dessert wines are more complete, or more arresting, than this.

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