Burgundian winemakers used to be a bit sniffy about Aligoté, but climate change has prompted a shift in attitude to the tangy, famously acidic grape variety, exemplified by the Aligoteurs movement of which Sylvain Pataille is a leading figure. This is a brilliant wine from an outstanding producer that could sell at twice the price, showing a touch of older oak, citrus, wet stone and green apple flavours, nice texture and weight and the concentration that often seems to come from old vines.
Food Match: Cheese
2022 Paul Mas Réserve Languedoc Blanc, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £9.99, 13%, Waitrose )Jean-Claude Mas is making some of the best wines in the south of France right now and is next to unbeatable for value under £10. This brilliant white blend is a more or less equal cuvée of Vermentino, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc with a splash of Viognier for extra perfume. Lightly but stylishly wooded, it has jasmine and rose petal aromas and a palate that combines flavours of peach, pear and citrus and a twist of Mediterranean herbs.
2022 Tesco Finest Pouilly-Fumé, Loire
( £15, 13%, Tesco )New World countries like Chile, New Zealand and South Africa are so good at making Sauvignon Blanc that it’s easy to forget about the variety’s home base in the Loire Valley. And yet, at their best, wines from place like Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre are unbeatable. This example from long-term Tesco supplier Fournier Père et Fils is well worth trading up for. Pithy, nettley and mouth-wateringly fresh, it has good texture from time on lees, stony minerality and flavours of elderflower, lime, celery and white pepper. Delicious.
2022 Cape Point Fairtrade Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon, Western Cape
( £7, 12.5%, The Co-op )I had to check the price of this amazing Cape bargain twice to make sure that it was correct. Made by the talented Riandri Visser of Cape Point Vineyards, who also spends a lot of time producing wine in the Loire Valley, it’s a brilliant Fairtrade certified cuvée of Sauvignon Blanc and 14% Semillon. Sappy, crunchy and mouth-wateringly fresh, it has lemongrass, gooseberry and grapefruit flavours and a waxy, herbal undertone.
2014 Château Fontesteau, Haut-Médoc
( £12.99 in store only, 13%, Majestic )For all the talk about the latest en primeur releases, it’s worth remembering that good claret can age beautifully. In fact, there are times when mature red Bordeaux stops you in your tracks. This is one of them: a scented, graceful cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Merlot  that has classic coffee bean, tobacco leaf and cedar wood top notes, fine-boned, layered tannins and flavours of sweet spices, summer berries and blackcurrant leaf. The wine is sold out on line, but there’s still some available in stores.
2021 Domaine Chevallier-Bernard Jongieux Blanc, Savoie
( £14.40, 11%, Tanners )Part of a very tasty line up of Savoie wines that have just arrived at Tanners, this is the just the kind of wine I’d like to drink if I ever ended up on a skiing holiday again. Here in the UK, it tastes pretty good as we prepare for British summer time to start: a light, graceful, floral Jacquère with jasmine and honeysuckle aromas, racy, stony, green apple and citrus peel flavours, subtle minerality and a slight lift of spritz.
2021 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile
( £6.50-£7.50, 13.5%, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose )One of those mass-market wines that rarely, if ever, lets you down, this 26 million bottle blend from Chile’s biggest producer uses grapes from Maule, Rapel and the Maipo Valley. Subtly wooded, with classic blackcurrant pastille, mint and fresh herb flavours and a whisper of oak spices. Outstanding at the price.
2020 Vinos en Voz Baja Costumbres, Rioja Oriental
( £16, 14.7%, The Wine Society )Combining grapes from Autol, Alfaro, Aldeanueva and Rincón de Soto, Costumbres is a regional expression of the Rioja Oriental from talented young winemaker, Carlos Mazo. Garnacha based with 20% co-planted Graciano and white grapes, it’s a very lightly wooded red, showing 100% whole bunch clove spices, subtle tannic grip and layers of plum, raspberry and red cherry fruit. The modern face of Rioja’s warmest sub-region.
2021 Riccitelli Wines Hey! Malbec, Mendoza
( £10.99, 14%, Majestic )“Honest and pure” is how MatÃas Riccitelli likes to describe this equal blend of Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley Malbecs, now produced as a 200,000 bottle blend. Floral, tangy and bright, Hey! is as appealing as its comic book label, with supple tannins and juicy bramble, aniseed and blackberry flavours.  Essence of Argentina at a great price.
2022 Familia Deicas Atlántico Sur Albariño, Uruguay
( £17.99, 13%, Vinos Latinos )Santi Deicas uses grapes from Canelones and coastal Maldonado to make this pan-Uruguayan expression of a grape that’s making waves in South America right now. Broad and textured with flavours of tangerine, white peach and lemongrass and a stony, mouthwatering finish. Time in stainless steel on fermentation lees adds appealing mid-palate texture.
2021 La Chablisienne Petit Chablis, Chablis, Burgundy
( £14, 12%, Marks & Spencer )Chablis has had a run of warmer vintages over the last eight years, robbing it of the things that make it so distinctive  – sea breeze freshness and chiselled acidity. But 2021 was a partial return to the later, cooler harvests of the past, and all the better as a result. This unwooded Chardonnay from the impressive La Chablisienne co-operative is tangy and textured, with citrus and oyster shell flavours and a pithy finish.
2021 The Foundry Grenache Blanc, Voor Paardeberg
( £15.50, 14%, The Wine Society )The Voor Paardeberg is sometimes described as “Swartland Lite”, to distinguish it from the wines made on the other side the mountain, but the region has come into its own in the last five years. This is one of a growing number of stand-alone Grenache Blancs being made around the world, especially in warm regions where the variety retains its acidity. Tangy, pithy and well-structured, with layers of complexity from ageing in barrel, terracotta and stainless steel, as well as 30% malolactic, it has citrus, camomile, aniseed and wet stone flavours and thrilling minerality.