Domaine Félines Jourdan, Picpoul de Pinet, 2016

Standards are high at the biggest of Picpoul’s private estates, the 95-ha Félines-Jourdan (with a full 60 ha in Picpoul, sited in three different zones with three different domain origins: Félines close to the sea at Mèze; Les Cadastres in the heart of the appellation; La Coulette up among the pine trees close to Montagnac). There’s almost a whiff of the Etang de Thau itself in this wine, a seawater-and-sunlight richness, while the palate is rich, full, penetrating, zesty and long: a worthy standard-bearer for the region