Barrère/Lionel Osmin, Jurançon Sec Clos de la Vierge | 2023

Once imported by the mysterious and polarizing figure, Robert Chadderdon, we served this wine (the 2005 Clos de la Vierge) by-the-glass at michy's restaurant in Miami almost twenty years ago. I remember my first sip of its odd grape, Gros Manseng — it was like drinking liquid minerals, bursting in every direction on the palate with icicles of gold and silver, then green-gold. Of course, there was fruit, which leaned into tart tropical along with sweet citrus, but the wine was more about sensation. The Madame behind those glory years was Anne-Marie Barrère. Now 95 and retired, Lionel Osmin is the current proprietor (you'll notice both names on the label), and thanks to him, Barrère's wines are back in the market after a long hiatus. So, as soon as our cases arrived, I opened a room temperature bottle and felt immediately energized. There it was, the rainbow of minerality and cool exotic flavors, as I remembered. And, like the former importer himself, the wine is still not for everyone, but that's the beauty of this cold and rainy place, called Clos de la Vierge. ~Allegra A