Château Bouscasse 2017 Les Jardins Philosophiques Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec 750ml

Alain Brumont, the man who dragged Madiran back to relevance, made this as a case for Petit Courbu — in his view the great dry white grape of the South-West, and one almost nobody bottles on its own. Petit Courbu leads, with Petit Manseng in support, from nine hectares of 45-year-old vines at 150 metres on yellow and white clay over fissured limestone, densely planted at 8,000 per hectare. Very slow pressing, cool tank fermentation, then a year on fine lees with stirring and no oak at all. Honey, mango, apricot and candied orange; full-bodied and fat, saved by real lift.

Pairing: grilled scallops, poultry in cream, foie gras, Ossau-Iraty.