Lidewij van Wilgen, a successful marketing executive in The Netherlands, started a new life in 2002 when she moved with her 3 young daughters to become a winemaker in the Languedoc. The vineyards were restored, the wine cellar renovated and the main house rebuilt. Now she is one of the ‘Leading Ladies of Languedoc’ and is highly regarded by Jancis Robinson and many other wine writers. Certified organic principles are applied to both viticulture and vinification, her naturally irrigated 14-hectare vineyard being a mix of clay, limestone, flint and fossilized oyster shells.
Terre Des Dames Diva Blanche 2019
14% abv
White Grenache remains a favourite variety for the estates’s white wines – its freshness and minerality are striking on their terroir.
The grapes of our oldest plot were vinified separately and aged, for five months, for 100% in big volume barrels of the finest quality of French oak. The result is an intense, spicy and mineral white wine, that is ready to drink now, but that will get only more refined with two or three years of aging.
“Certified organic. 100% Grenache Blanc from an old plot of vines. Yields of 30 hl/ha. Hand-picked. Aged in 600-litre, top-quality French oak barrels, 50% new. 2,000 bottles.
Rises out the glass like sunlight striking a vast glass window. Lime curd and creamed honey on toast, white chicory leaf and caraway seed. White pears. Pulls taut and long across the palate, determined but restrained. There is real force inside this wine, with its dramatic angles set into brushstrokes of softness. If I had the choice, I would buy six bottles and follow the evolution over a period of six years. I think its longevity might surprise those cynical about the fine-wine potential of Grenache Blanc.”
17.5 Points – Tamlyn Currie, Jancis Robinson
- Reference #:
- 12871
- Strength
- 14 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Grenache Blanc
- Organic
- Yes
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Sparkling
- No
