“French wines never cease to surprise even the most discerning consumers,” says the national daily newspaper, Le Figaro

“But no one can claim to know everything about this nation’s unique wine-making heritage,  which has 375 appellations, 210 authorized grape varieties, and 17 main wine regions, with  85,000 estates covering around 780,000 hectares!” reports its correspondent, wine writer Jean-Baptiste Ancelot, known as the Wine Explorer.

He completed  a Tour de France of  ten not-to-be-missed vineyards and found ‘remarkable wines’ at Rives-Blanques in Limoux.