Figure Libre Wine with Grilled Chicken and Nasturtium Salad Recipe*

We know from our last Domaine Gayda post that red wine has been around for thousands of years but in terms of age, white wine is still relatively new, being only 2500 years old, and really only made popular during the late 1800’s in Paris France, when it became fashionable to drink this cheaper version of wine, outside the confines of the city and within the vineyards it was produced in.

White wine is made using just the inner part of the grape without the skin, which is what gives it its golden, greenish, yellow colour. It is made fermenting the pulp of grapes that has not been coloured from the skin like red wine, and comes in huge varieties, most recognisably Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (which is where you get Champagne from) and Sauvignon Blanc amongst just some – but with this Domaine Gayda  Figure Libre Freestyle, you don’t just get one variety of grapes within this wine you get four, giving you a flavour you may not have experienced before. Continue reading to see what we thought and don’t forget to check out our recipe.

What did I think of the wine?

I decided to pair this wine with grilled chicken and a light and tasty, watermelon and nasturtium – which is an edible flower that grows in our garden. This is a light dish that really goes well with white and rosé wines. So perfect when reviewing this white wine by Domaine Gayda, and part of the Freestyle, Figure Libre selection.

The wine did pair well with the dish, but was overly sweet for my palette. I found it tasted very much of a simple vin de table. It had a peachy flavour, with a slight hint of honey and lemon, which I suspect is why I felt it was more sweet than dry. Considering it was a blended wine, it has a really light straw yellow colour.

This wine is organic, which I suppose you can tell, through its clean taste. As I mentioned earlier, it is a blend of grapes (including, Maccabeu, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Marsanne). This mixing of grapes seemed to really work well for the red equivalent of this bottle, however, as a white wine, it lacked any distinguishing flavours, which you might get from using one single grape.

Once again this blended white has shown how more and more vineyards are changing traditions and rather than using one grape variety that they may create a higher risk in terms of consistent quality they have blended their wine so that they can take the best of each grape variety in the hope of creating the best bottle they can.

For me, this white wasn’t the best I had tasted, but was perfectly acceptable as a vin de table and would suit most lightweight dishes on a summers day. You could also drink this wine as an intro to a meal, topped with a lemonade or soda as a spritzer. Although its said to be dry IU felt it was semi-dry more on the verge of sweet, so if this would suit you palette check out where you can buy it below.

Where can you buy the wine?

You can buy it here online at Majestic or take a look on their website to find out if they have any stores location to you.

How much is it?

The online price is £13.99 for one or if you buy a section of six wines or more its £12.99. Prices may vary in store, always check prior to your purchase.

Our Pairing Recipe

Grilled Chicken, with Watermelon and Nasturtium Salad

Ingredients (serves two)

1/4 of a watermelon
12 nasturtium leaves and six flowers – you can use rocket or watercress as an alternative – 1/2 a packet should suffice
2 chicken breast cut into goujons
Marinate in 1 juice of lemon
Five tbsp of oil
1/2 a tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Mixed herbs (whichever you’re have )
2 tsp of garlic powder
(marinate the chicken in the fridge for 1-2 hours)

The Vinaigrette
1 tsp of marmalade
The juice of half lemon
1 tbsp of vinegar
3 tbsp oil
Pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Once the chicken has marinated cook on a griddle pan on your hob for at least 20 minutes – turn them over partway through (until cooked through and no longer pink), or like us, we did it on the gas BBQ outside, which gives it that lovely charged taste too (it’s also a little quicker)

Whilst the chicken is cooking use a melon ball tool or a teaspoon if you don’t have one, scooped out around six balls per person and place on your dinner plate. Then arrange your leaves and flowers if you have nasturtium, and if not use your rocket/watercress.

Once you have done this make your vinaigrette. I put all the ingredients into an old jar, then close it with the lid and give it a really good shake – and there you have it an easy vinaigrette.

Then pour the vinaigrette over the salad and add the chicken to your plate. I actually poured some over the chicken too which was really tasty. You could serve this with a garlic flatbread or some baguette bread sliced, however you fancy.

About Figure Libre

This Figure Libre Freestyle White is an organic blended wine, using a variety of grapes. It has been part oaked, which generally gives white wine a greater depth of flavour. Gayda have used a multi-regional blend of grapes to give their wine a better chance, allowing them to choose grapes based on quality alone, and ensuring they can produce fully organic wine, that may at times be a more difficult to grow as it can’t rely on outside interference (from pesticides) to control the growth of the grapes.

About Domaine Gayda

Situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees, surrounded by its organic vineyards, Domaine Gayda can be found 25km south-west of Carcassonne in the village of Brugairolles.  Owners Tim Ford and Anthony Record have joined forces with winemaker Vincent Chansault to create an outstanding facility where the team handcrafts the Domaine Gayda range of wines.  Domaine Gayda has a pioneering philosophy based on a new approach to winemaking, viewing things from a new perspective free from the constraints of convention. Inspired by the diversity and compatibility of our ‘terroirs’, our wines truly reflect the aspirations of the whole team at Domaine Gayda.  Innovation and tradition, integrity and excellence: ‘Spirit of the Languedoc’

About Majestic

Majestic pride themselves of being a fun and accessible seller of wine. Training their staff to move away from the stuffy approach often associated with wine suppliers, and encouraging them to have a relaxed and knowledgeable attitude, which they hope will encourage more people to try the huge selection of wines they have on offer.

They are passionate about their customer-focused perspective and really love to continuously explore new wines. This means that if you want to try something new, they’ve tried it for you, ensuring its good and then made it available in their shops or online, for you to buy. This means that you don’t have to be stuck with the same mediocre wines, you can try something new with the assurance of its taste based on their great online information provided alongside all their wine descriptions.

Review by: Lex Ward

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*We were sent the wine in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.