The 2011 vintage was a tricky one in the Loire, but this wine is gloriously unaffected. It’s a pure, dry, oak-matured Chenin Blanc which combines notes of apples, honey and pears with some sweet vanilla and assertive, mouthwatering acidity. A delicious wine from the talented Jacky Blot.
Food Match: Cheese
2011 Domaine Paul Blanck Gewurztraminer, Alsace
( £14.99 down to £11.24, 13.5%, Waitrose )Produced close to the village of Kientzheim, this is a very stylish Alsace Gewürz, with none of the oilyness that can affect the variety. Gentle spice, with lovely acidity, rose petal fragrance and a brisk, refreshing, ginger-like finish. Try this with a washed rind cheese.
2011 Terredora Greco di Tufo, Terre Degli Angeli, Campania
( £13.99 down to £10.24, 13%, Waitrose )I’ve had more more Italian white wines this year than ever – and no, I’m not talking about Pinot Grigio. This stunner from Montefocso, near Naples, comes from chalky soils and shows lovely, pithy minerality on the palate, backed up by notes of orange zest and citrus fruit and impressive weight.
2010 Domaine des Forges, Côteaux du Layon, Loire Valley
( £7.99 down to £5.99, 11.5%, Waitrose )You only get a half bottle of this for your money, but I wouldn’t complain. When they are this good, Loire sweet wines wipe the winery floor with similarly priced stickies from Sauternes. There’s some old oak used to age the wine, but it’s just there as a background note, supporting the stylish, minerally, honey and ripe pear flavours. This is liquid tarte tatin, a delicious Coteaux du Layon from the Premier Cru slopes of Chaume.
2010 Rustenberg Straw Wine, Coastal Region
( 13.49, 10.5%, Waitrose )Made from grapes dried on straw mats to concentrate their sugars and flavours, this is a remarkable, barrel-aged blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Crouchen, with rich, mouthcoating flavours of apricot syrup, honey, vanilla pod and citrus fruit. There’s a slight volatile lift that adds to the complexity of the wine here.
1977 D'Oliveiras Reserva Terrantez, Madeira
( £55 down to £41.25, 20%, Waitrose )Bottled in 2008 (which means it spent more than 30 years in cask), this is the sort of wine that everyone should drink once in their life. It has the classic green tinge of mature Madeira, as well as the marked acidity of the best examples. Savoury, complex and fine, this has a classic cheesy undertone, with mature, smoky, incense-like aromas and flavours. Yes, it’s expensive, but at 25% off, now is the time to buy it. Or offer it as a Christmas present.
2008 Domaine Courbis Champelrose, Cornas, Rhône Valley
( £19.99 down to £14.99, 13%, Waitrose )Cornas can make some of the chunkiest wines in the northern Rhône, but this is much more refined than many examples. It’s got lovely lifted crackedf pepper and clove spice on the nose, with subtle oak, hints of grilled meat and red fruits and a fine, refreshing finish. The wine will comfortably age for another eight years or more.
2011 Carmagnole Prestige, Caramany, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £9.99, 14%, Marks & Spencer )Caramany is the westernmost of the Côtes du Roussillon’s top appellations. Its altitude and comparatively cool conditions, allied to granite and quartz soils, produce wines of remarkable freshness and poise, just like this one. Cracked pepper and spice, with red fruits and bright acidity. The old vine Carignan gives the wine some savoury ballast.
2011 Taste the Difference Pouilly-Fumé, Loire Valley
( £11.99 down to £8.99, 13%, Sainsbury's )Made by the brilliant André Figeat, this is a winner every year at JS, even in tricky vintages like 2011. Focused, nettley and taut, this is bright and refreshing with notes of minerals, dill, cut grass and citrus fruit. Long and complex on the palate, this is at its best with goat’s cheese.
2012 Villa Maria Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough
( £13.99 down to £7.86, 13%, Sainsbury's )The cooler Awatere Valley is producing someof Marlborough’s most distinctive Sauvignons at the moment, lighter and fresher in style than those of the neighbouring Wairau Valley. This is a very elgant Kiwi number, which wouldn’t look out of place in the Loire, with tangy elderflower and citrsu fruit notes and a fine, stony finish. Very poised, very self-assured.
2006 Taste the Difference Hunter Valley Semillon
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 10.5%, Sainsbury's )Thsi has been on the shelves for a while at JS, which suggests that (baffling though it is to me) it isn’t selling. This is the weekend to rectify that, because it’s an amazing wine at the price. Light-bodied, in classic Hunter style, with notes of toast and lemon sherbet and a tangy finish from early picked grapes. Essence of the Hunter.
2010 Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage, Les Meysonniers, Rhône Valley
( £15.99 down to £11.99, 13%, Sainsbury's )The enfant terrible of the Rhône is at the top of his form right now, even on wines from lesser appellations, such as Crozes-Hermitage. This has classic Syrah aromas of tapenade and smoked meat, allied to freshness, brightness and length. It’s organic, its unoaked and it’s truly delicious.