Tasting melon, soil and clouds

Wines from France's Laroque D'Antan are made soulful by the microbiologist family that runs it

- Jahnabee Borah

Nephele is a cloud nymph in Greek mythology, and a spectacular French white wine is named after her. Néphèle by Domaine Laroque D'Antan is so soft on the palate that it reminded me of daulat ki chaat, the airy Delhi dessert, usually available in winter.

I tried the wine at the spirits trade event ProWine in Mumbai in November. It's a rare wine produced by a family of soil scientists: Lydia and Claude Bourguignon and their son Emmanuel. While Claude and Lydia work on the soil, their son makes the wines. The Néphèle, vintage 2021, had rich notes of melon on the nose, and when I looked surprised at how gentle it tasted, Claude explained, "It's due to the limestone."