There isn’t a lot of competition in Piedmont, but this has to be the region’s best Riesling. Nor would it look shabby in a tasting with examples from the Alto Adige. Made entirely with clone 49 on poor, sandy soils, it’s a dry, tangy style with notes of white flowers and lime zest and a crisp, tapering finish. Beautifully balanced.
Food Match: Chicken
2013 De Martino Viejas Tinajas Muscat, Itata Valley
( £10-15, 12.5%, Les Caves de Pyrene )De Martino’s Viejas Tinajas project is producing some of Chile’s most interesting wines at the moment. This savoury, aromatic white has a touch of grapeskin bitterness to it that adds structure as well as a layer of complexity. It’s not a typical Muscat by any means: you can taste the grapey notes of the variety but they are subtle and restrained rather than overt.
2011 Pegasus Bay, Bel Canto Dry Riesling, Waipara Valley
( £13-£17, 14%, New Generation Wines )An evocative name for a delicious wine. This full-bodied “dry” Riesling from the Waipara Valley is actually off-dry, but it’s none the worse for that. This is exotic and rich, with old vine complexity and flavours of lime, peach and nectarine. It’s especially good with spicy food, but is also delicious as an aperitif.
2012 Pegasus Bay, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Waipara Valley
( £15, 14.5%, New Generation Wines )There aren’t many producers around the world who can make Bordeaux blends to rival the stuff that’s made in Pessac-Léognan, but Pegasus Bay is one of them. This delicately oaked, full-bodied cuvée is rich and sumptuous, with waxy, herbal flavours, a hint of vanilla and a tangy, refeshing finish. On past form, this should age well too.
NV Krug, Grande Cuvée, Champagne
( £80-£100, 12%, Widely available )A blend of 20 wines from ten different vintages, some of which are 15 years old, Krug’s non-vintage blend is one of a kind. It’s rich, complex and palate coating, with small bubbles, savoury, umami notes, hints of hazelnut and honey and a dry, refeshing palate. The kind of Champagne that works extremely well with food rather than as an aperitif.
2012 Thymiopolous Jeunes Vignes, Naoussa
( £12.50, 13.5%, Oddbins )Oddbins pioneered Greeek wines in the UK and continues to do a great job of promoting its individual, invariably good value wines. Try this pale, complex Xynomavro, which tastes like a cross between a red Burgundy and a Barolo. The tannins need food to show at their best.
NV Tetramythos, Retsina
( £7.95, 13%, The Wine Society )This is no ordinary, drink-it-on-holiday Retsina. It’s biodynamic, fermented in amphorae with wild yeasts and highly unusual. The pine resin notes are restrained and enjoyable, adding a Mediterranean herb like dimension to the pear, beeswax and honey fruit. The wines finishes tangy and dry.
2013 Sybille Kuntz, Riesling Spätlese Trocken, Mosel
( €25.50, 13% )A late picked, yet “dry” style of Spätlese from the Niederberg-Helden, with remarkable concentration and persistence, underlining Sybille Kuntz’s reputation as one of the Mosel’s best producers. Rich and slightly savoury, with smoky minerality, some stone fruit sweetness, a hint of fennel and a poised, balanced, tapering finish. Exceptional winemaking.
2013 Collefrisio, Vignaquadra, Abruzzo
( £13.50, 13.5%, Dvine Cellars )An impressive Pecorino from the Frisa hills of the Abruzzo, this shows that you don’t need wine to make a tasty white. Peachy and just off-dry, it’s got bags of flavour, bright acidity and a taut, minerally finish.
2007 McGuigan, Semillon Bin 9000, Hunter Valley, New South Wales
( £14, 11%, Tesco Fine Wine )The sort of wine that seems to win medals in its sleep, this Semillon is something of a wine nerd’s white. It’s well priced, especially given its quality, and will age beautifully in bottle, too. Smoky, leesy, waxy and toasty with underlying citrus fruit ping, no apparent oak and a lovely lighthness of touch.
2011 McGuigan, No 3659, The Shortlist Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
( £15, 13%, Tesco Wine Online )One of a series of impressive wines under The Shortlist label, this French oak-fermented cool climate Chardonnay has benefited from a little bottle age and is now showing some developed flavours and aromas. Pear, cinnamon spice and a touch of honey combine well on the palate here.
2013 Neudorf, Chardonnay, Nelson
( £14-£15, 14% )A lightly oaked Chardonnay that still shows all the Neudorf hallmarks: weight, power, spice and complexity, with sweet stone and tropical fruit underpinned by acidity. The oak, as ever, is deftly handled here, showing notes of cinnamon and nutmeg spice.