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Vignobles André Lurton’s Oh Oui! 0% alcohol offers an alternative to dealcoholisation

13 November 2024 By Colin Hay

The launch of Vignobles André Lurton’s new Oh Oui! 0% alcohol – an alcohol-free wine alternative made from unfermented grape juice – prompts db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay to look at the merits and drawbacks of dealcoholisation versus other methods, with a not-very-scientific but very interesting comparison tasting.

No- and low-alcohol alternatives to fine wine are currently the fastest growing sector of the global drinks market. Such has been the pace and rapidity of their ascent, it was almost inevitably they would become the focus of a range of received wisdoms and orthodoxies. By far the most prominent of these is the idea – almost a mantra for some – that the only credible pathway to a zero-alcohol alternative to fine wine is through dealcoholisation.

But in recent months that idea has started to be challenged by a small but increasingly vociferous minority. They argue that dealcoholisation is costly, inefficient, massively wasteful of environmental resources and in fact produces a product that needs then to be both pasteurised (to the detriment of its organoleptic character) and entirely reconstituted through the use of a range of additives including significant quantities of sugar. Such views have, of course, not gone unchallenged and the debate is well and truly joined.

That makes the launch by Vignobles André Lurton of its new ‘Oh Oui!’ range, made from fruit sourced from the Château Bonnet vineyard in Grézillac in the Entre-deux-Mers, particularly interesting. Why? Because Jacques Lurton, Vignobles André Lurton’s Chairman, is no fan of dealcoholisation and because the pair of zero-alcohol alternatives to fine wine that he is proposing are not the product of dealcoholisation. They are made from unfermented grape juice.

That allows us to conduct a far from scientific, but still interesting, tasting comparison, which, while not intended to resolve the dispute between the two sides, does give an intriguing insight into what is at stake, as well as the range of options available to the consumer.

But before we come to that, it is worth entering a little into the details of how the Oh Oui! wine substitutes are in fact made, given that they involve no dealcoholisation.

The production process is in fact very simple – rather more so than for a product based on de-alcoholised wine. Oh Oui! is sourced from the Sauvignon Blanc plots of Château Bonnet (from parcels whose fruit would otherwise be blended with Sémillon to go into the estate’s excellent grand vin blanc).

The grapes for this first release were harvested in September 2024 before full maturity and hence at lower potential alcohol or, more significantly here, lower sugar levels. Sauvignon Blanc is almost certainly the best varietal to use here since, even two weeks before a conventional harvest much of its aromatic signature and complexity is already present. It is that which Jacques Lurton is seeking to capture here.

What is much more complicated, both logistically and technically, is the production of a grape juice from the harvested fruit as quickly as possible and in optimally sterile conditions. For without the alcohol to protect, there is a considerable risk of bacterial contamination.

The acidity and sugar are both entirely natural. The final product – offered in still and sparkling forms – has around 5.5 grams of natural sugar per 100 millilitres. With no calories from the alcohol, each has just 22 kcal per 100 millilitres (around 20-25% of that a conventional Sauvignon Blanc).

The comparative tasting

There is a clear and growing market for this kind of product – although I am clearly not part of that market. (If I am honest, I cannot imagine buying any one of these products other than for a tasting like this, fascinating though that has been). As a consequence, they pose a difficult challenge for a wine critic. Do I seek to gauge their qualities in the same way I might a wine? Am I judging them (solely) as an alternative to wine? Or am I simply giving an honest assessment of how I find them to be, putting aside their association with wine? In the end, I have sought to do all three, but because they are not wine and they are not claiming to be wine, I have used a simple 5 star classification scale to gauge their relative qualities instead of a conventional wine rating scale (out of 100).

Dry whites

Oh Oui! 0% Alcohol (Château Bonnet) 2024 (100% Sauvignon Blanc; 5.5 g of sugar per 100 ml; 22 kcal per 100 ml; 0% alcohol). From grapes harvested from the Sauvignon Blanc plots of Chateau Bonnet. Fresh, bright and quite lifted aromatically. It’s vinous if not immediately and evidently Sauvignon Blanc. White flowers, glass and cut grass notes, confit melon, cane apples (arbouse in french) a little white nectarine and pear with almost a hint of white cherry. On the palate this is fuller and more ample on the attack than the de-alcoholised wines tasted alongside it and that definitely gives it more sustenance. It’s also a little more viscous and denser in the mid-palate which makes this much less like a mineral water with the addition of citrus elements. In short, it’s a lot more vinous. And the fruit profile is a little more complex too – with almost a strawberry note alongside the white cherry, nectarine, pear and assorted citrus elements. It’s definitely sweeter than the Chavin Zero, with about 5.5 g/100 ml of natural sugar. But the acidity seems better integrated and balanced and this allows it to achieve a form of natural tension. ★★★☆☆.

Chavin Zéro Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Vin de Franc déalcoolisé; 2.5 g of sugar per 100 ml; 10 kcal per 100 ml; 0% alcohol). Grassy and leafy, with distinct Sauvignon Blanc greengage and gooseberry. There’s assorted yuzu and citrus notes too and a little hint of peach. In short, this is familiarly vinous at least aromatically, though there’s a slight rubbery note which I find a bit disconcerting. On the attack this could just about be mistaken for wine. But very quickly we know we’re in the presence of something else. And as soon as it reaches the back of the mouth it’s beginning to feel like a bit of a let-down. This is slender and short, lacking the volume, viscosity and substance to give it any length and sustenance on the palate. It’s very high pitched too. Overall, I find it more like drinking a pretty decent mineral water with freshly squeezed lemon and lime (and a subtle note of guava too) than anything else. Perfectly tolerable, indeed really rather pleasant but my brain feels cheated. Whilst this is good for what it is, it feels expensive for what it’s trying to be and, even more so, for what it most closely resembles. I guess it tastes like what you might imagine a de-alcoholised wine might taste like, which is already quite an accomplishment technically. Strangely, the level of acidity here would be just about optimal were this supported by some alcohol, but without it this feels just a little astringent. It doesn’t really work as an aperitif and cries out for food (but lacks the volume to deal with it). ★★☆☆☆.

Sparkling

Moderato Colombard NV (Vin de Franc déalcoolisé; 100% Colombard; 3 g per 100 ml of sugar; 12 kcal per 100 ml; 0% alcohol; made from dealcoholised wine (96%) and grape must). Strangely saline aromatically, nutty too – almost like salted macademia nuts. A little white grapefruit and that strange hint of rubber than I picked up on the Chavin Zéro Sauvignon Blanc. But pleasingly vinous aromatically and quite fresh too. On the palate, especially when served super-cold, this has a pleasingly fresh attack and a certain amount of energy. It’s simple, but elegant in its citrus acidity and it’s well balanced too – the acidity here feels better incorporated. But, as it evolves over the palate and as the mousse subsides a little it resembles ever more a fine sparking mineral water. Refreshing (and might work well in the zero-alcohol version of a Kir Royale – a Kir Républicain perhaps!). ★★★☆☆.

French Bloom Organic French Bubbly Le Blanc NV (certified organic; 0% alcohol; 6.6 g per 100 ml of sugar; 28 kcal per 100 ml). This is the market leader in fine non-alcohol alternatives to wine and significantly more expensive than the other products tasted here. It is made from a combination of French sparkling spring water, de-alcoholised organic Chardonnay, organic grape juice, lemon juice and natural grape flavouring – a list of ingredients that gives a sense of the alchemy and the delicate balancing act involved here. There’s a richness on the attack that is impressive and, interestingly, it doesn’t really come from and isn’t really even much reinforced by the bubbles – which dissipate very rapidly. Aromatically this is rather different from the others – with cider apples, red berry fruits, pear and a little peach the most prominent notes. There’s grape skin too and maybe a little straw. On the palate, the attack is voluminous and quite ample, but like many of these alternatives to wine it lacks the mid-palate density to sustain it and, once again, on the finish this is more reminiscent of sparkling spring water or, actually, ginger ale than wine. All of that said, it’s nicely balanced, very pleasant and the slight hint of ginger on the finish makes this both interesting and refreshing. ★★★★☆.

Oh Oui! 0% Alcohol (Château Bonnet) 2024 (100% Sauvignon Blanc; 5.5 g of sugar per 100 ml; 22 kcal per 100 ml; 0% alcohol). This is, as you might expect, similar in personality and style to the still version. But the bubbles certainly help to give this additional freshness and that helps with the perception of the sugar-acidity balance (in short, it comes across as less sweet that the still version). There’s a stronger Sauvignon character to this too – with almost a hint of white currant, black currant leaf and Ribena alongside the aromatic components familiar from the still version. I like the mouthfeel and there is more persistence in and through the mid-palate than I find with the other wine alternatives tasted. And what I also like is that there’s almost a sense of structure and chiselling here that renders it the most vinous of the three sparkling bottles opened for this tasting. ★★★★☆.

*The two Oh Oui! samples were provided by Vignobles André Lurton, while the Chavin Zéro Sauvignon Blanc and the Moderato Colombard NV were purchased from local supermarkets in France where they are on offer for roughly the same price as the Oh Oui! bottlings (approx €10 per bottle). The French Bloom Organic French Bubbly (not to be confused with its 2022 La Cuvee, which launched this year and retails for £109 in the UK), was purchased from a Caviste in Paris and retails for around three times the price of the others.

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