A bonne bouche from Sainsbury’s

I spent much of last Wednesday tasting Sainsbury’s autumn offerings.  They seem to favour Jean-Claude Mas for quite a few of their wines from the Languedoc;  in fact the most original dry white with a southern flavour came from a South African Roussanne, namely 2015 Bellingham The Bernard Series, with white blossom and satisfying texture for £10.00.  The red pair to this was a ripe oaky Syrah for £12.00 which came in a very heavy bottle, so I was less enthused.   

And then almost at the end of the tasting, amongst the tiny selection of dessert wines was a delicious bonne bouche, a half bottle of Muscat de St Jean de Minervois, for just £5.00.  It was everything that good Muscat should be, with soft honeyed grapy fruit and a nice balance of acidity.   St. Jean de Minervois is a tiny appellation adjoining the eastern edge of the Minervois and a couple of wine growers in St. Chinian also make it, but the main producer is the village cooperative, which, I suspect, was the source of this wine.