Pouilly Fume 'Les Champlins' 2006

So Mark Cavendish has gone home to rest up ahead of the Olympics, but the Tour goes on, and the new format seems to be keeping things interesting. Today's winner was Cyril Dessel, a French AG2R rider. He used to race for Jelly Belly - I could ride for them.

Time for a French wine. We had a Pouilly Fume 'Les Champlins' 2006. I've cycled through Pouilly sur Loire, it's pretty flat, not like today's stage. 2006 was wet. Very wet. You can just see my panniers wearing their little raincoats outside the Chateau in the centre of town.

The 'Les Champlins' is pretty good despite the rain. It's steely in that mineral way that the Loire has perfected, with some lemon and lime balanced by a weird but good honeyed apricot kinda thing going on. At 12% alcohol it's easy drinking stuff. At about £7.50 it's a reasonable price for this appellation.

Rainy days

Autumn is upon us, nights are drawing in and it's raining again. Rain isn't always the vine's best friend but in Galicia it rains almost as much as it does in Wales, yet they still manage to turn out wine.

Albariño is a Spanish gem. Made from the same grapes as vinho verde, and just a few miles up the coast in the wine region of Rias Baixas, it's a very different wine. I tried a Val do Sosego Albariño 2006 from Oddbins.

It's pale with strong legs. It smells of peaches and apricots with a touch of citrus. Bone dry with a lemon crisp acidity. The stone fruit carries onto the palate with a lttle almond bitterness. It's medium bodied with medium alcohol at 12.5%. The flavour lasts well and acts as a great balance to rich seafood.

Expect to pay about £7-8 a bottle.