Fresh, modern, crisp dry whites, characterful reds and succulent sweet wines all come from this diverse region all offering wonderful flavours as well as superb value.

These are delicious apéritifs and summer wines, none more so than the excellent La Cabane, outstanding at its price. Our own Tanners Gascony White is another great example of clean, crisp winemaking, while further explorations in Aquitaine revealed Château Le Fagé, a superbly situated property looking over the plain towards the town of Bergerac, with Sauvignon that errs to Bordeaux for inspiration. Further south, Producteurs Plaimont and P Grassa are harnessing the now relatively well-known Colombard and Ugni Blanc varieties to great effect for lemony, summer wines.

There is a great tradition of sweet wines from the area too. Plaimont produces the excellent Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, a blend of Gros and Petit Manseng and a speciality of the region, which has a light, silky quality. More in the style of its Bordelais neighbours, Château Le Fagé’s Monbazillac has more depth, while Domaine du Tariquet offers great value for a zesty medium wine.

For their reds, growers in the South-West tend to use Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon to make wines in a similar style to claret. Straightforward, juicy and with a fresh feel, Château Le Fagé’s Bergerac is just this sort of wine, fruity and well-balanced. Heading east along the valley, Château de Tiregand is a classic claret blend whose maturation in barriques gives it a rather classy character. If you are seeking more intrigue, the Madiran from Patrick Ducournau show-cases Tannat, a grape that needs a few years cellaring to come round. Blended with forty per cent Cabernet Franc; his Domaine Mouréou could easily be mistaken for a Saint-Emilion at twice its modest price tag and is drinking particularly well.

Stephen Crosland