The Domaine Cauhapé Ballet d'Octobre 2020 is an off-dry Jurançon from South-West France, built on Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng picked in October. It sits at the lighter, fresher end of the sweet Jurançon spectrum, where the sugar reads as ripeness rather than syrup.

Aromatics run to yellow peach, quince and pineapple, with a lick of honeysuckle and dried citrus peel behind them. The palate carries stone fruit and sliced apple, along with a faintly spicy, ginger-like edge that keeps the fruit from turning sugary.

Acidity is the making of this wine. Ballet d'Octobre holds its sweetness on a taut, lemony line that scrubs the palate clean between sips, giving a texture closer to silk than syrup, and the finish tapers off dry and mineral rather than lingering sweet.

Serve it well chilled with blue cheese, a slice of foie gras or a slab of terrine and quince paste. It also does the harder jobs beautifully: pork belly with apple, salt-and-pepper squid, a mild coconut curry, or a simple apple tart where a heavier dessert wine would flatten everything.

The 2020 is drinking generously now and should hold through to around 2030, gradually trading its fresh tropical fruit for honey, marmalade and toasted nut as the acid keeps it upright.