By Subhash Arora

Last year we had organised a wine appreciation evening where we tasted five wines from Chateau Indage, including this one from their line-up of newer varietals. When we tasted this wine, we were pleasantly surprised by the varietal blend.

As the name suggests, it marries the slightly sweet Chenin Blanc and the highly perfumed Muscat grapes, which also bring in a lot of citric flavours to this white wine and add crisp acidity.

There's a good balance of fruit flavours and crispness. The off-dry (slighty sweet), light to medium-bodied straw yellow-hued wine leaves a puckering taste in the mouth and makes you want to drink endlessly. So, I wasn't surprised when it won a medal at the Wine for Asia show in Singapore last November. A great aperitif for the long and hot Indian summer, it's a simple wine that can be sipped as an aperitif and ordered with snacks like samosa s, aloo tikki s, paneer shaslik or dhokla.

With an MRP of Rs 450 and easy availability at the local vends, it is a good value wine and a better alternative to the sweet Chenin Blancs available in the market. Best served chilled at 8-10 degrees C. The lower temperature is recommended as it does get warm in the glass faster than you think. Swirl properly to enjoy the intense bouquet.

For more details, go to www.chateauindage.com