This cool climate, low alcohol white from the Hunter Valley is consistently one of the stars of Tesco’s range. Its crisp, lazer-like acidity is offset by a little sweetness (although you don’t notice it), but it’s still leafy and green, with notes of dill and green olive and a tangy finish. Like Hunter Semillons, this wine ages extremely well.
Food Match: Chicken
2012 Finest* Tingleup Riesling, Western Australia
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 11%, Tesco )I told you Janice McDonald was an ace white wine maker and this is further proof of her talents, this time with Riesling. This is a beautifully, poised, ageworthy style, focused and pithy with youth on its side and bone dry, lime-scented fruit. Buy a few bottles and see how they age over the next decade or so.
2011 Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula
( £16.99, 13%, Morrisons )This is one of the best value Pinots, not only in Australia, but the entire world. It’s just as good as plenty of village level Burgundies that would cost two or three times more. Subtle and refined on the nose, with aromas of wild flowers and a hint of earthiness, it’s fresh and persistent on the palate with impressive length, bright minerality and sweet and savoury notes. An Aussie Saivgny-lès-Beaune.
2010 Bellingham The Bernard Series Roussanne, Paarl
( £10.99 down to £8.24, 14.5%, Sainsbury's )Why isn’t there more Roussanne planted in the hotter parts of the Cape, such as Paarl? Beats me, because it seems to do really well there, especially in the hands of Niel Groenewald at Bellingham. This lightly oaked, lees-influenced white is savoury and complex with notes of oatmeal, vanilla and cinnamon and a long, yeasty finish.
2012 Taste the Difference Greco di Tufo, Avelino, Campania
( £7.86 down to £5.90, 13%, Sainsbury's )Despite its warm climate origins in the Campania region close to Naples, this wine is made from grapes grown at 450 metres and it shows, giving the wine lovely focus and zip. It’s a spicy, savoury white with a creamy texture from lees contact and plenty of weight and concentration. It was already on a deal (down from £10.49), so you get a double saving here. Bargain!
2006 Taste the Difference Hunter Valley Semillon, Hunter Valley
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 13%, Sainsbury's )This wine has been on Sainsbury’s shelves for a while (a reflection of Semillon’s lack of popularity, rather than the quality of this example, which is outstanding), but now is still a great time to buy this aged Hunter white. Toasty, fresh and mature with focused acidity and notes of lemongrass and cream soda and a long, unoaked finish. Go on, give it a go!
Greywacke Wild Sauvignon, Marlborough
( £17.49, 14%, Excel Wines )Kevin Judd is a master of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. As its name suggests, this is his wild yeast-fermented expression of the grape, along the lines of Cloudy Bay’s Te Koko. It’s a stunning wine, combining notes of white Burgundy, white Bordeaux and Kiwi fruit exuberance. The older oak is very subtle, the savoury, grapefruity, yeasty flavours perfectly judged.
2012 Château de la Roulerie, Les Grandes Bosses, Anjou, Loire Valley
( £9, 13%, Oddbins )Possibly a little closed at the moment, but this dry Loire Chenin Blanc hints at good things to come in the glass. Tangy, taut and crisp, with pure green apple fruit, lovely focus and a minerally backdrop. Time should confer more weight and some honeyed, bottle-developed characters.
2009 Verget Saint Véran Grand Elevage, Mâconnais, Burgundy
( £17, 13%, Oddbins )White Burgundies from the 2009 vintage don’t lack opulence, but the best ones have freshness and bite, too. This is certainly on the ripe and honeyed side, but it has enough freshness for balance, with notes of vanilla and nutmeg spice, pear and citrus fruit and an appealingly honeyed texture.
2011 François Lurton, Janeil, Gros Manseng & Sauvignon, Côtes de Gascogne
( £7.25, 12.5%, Oddbins )The sort of wine that has made Gascony one of the best value-for-money white wine regions in France, this is a comparativley unusual blend of Sauvignon and Gros Manseng, a grape more often found in Jurançon. It’s tangy, refreshing and crisp, with peach, apricot and grapefruit flavours and a zesty finish.
2011 Jacques & Nathalie Saumaize, Saint-Véran, En Crèches, Mâconnais, Burgundy
( £11.50, 13%, The Wine Society )Supple for a 2011, but showing good underlying acidity, this southern Burgundian Chardonnay is all about fruit and focus, not oak. It’s taut and fresh with a whiff of orange zest, and flavours of fennel, white peach and pear.
2007 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume, Vignoble de Vaulorent, Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume, Burgundy
( £29, 13%, The Wine Society )2007 was a vintage that was overlooked in Burgundy, both for reds and whites, which is a shame as they are drinking really well now. This has a delicious combination of honeyed development with bracing acidity to pull the wine back into line. Taut and chalky, with impressive palate length.