93

2021 Balassa Bor Marty McFly Furmint, Tokaji

( £11.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )

“Wow!” was my one-word tasting note when I initially sipped this remarkable dry Furmint from Hungary. The Tokaji region is best known for its delicious sweet wines, but that’s changing thanks to producers like Balassa Bor. Intense, stony and lightly wooded, this jauntily named white has citrus, fresh dough and aniseed flavours, wonderful purity and focus and racy, palate-cleansing acidity.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, Hungary, White, Furmint
91

2021 Waitrose Loved & Found Frappato, Sicily

( £7.99, 13.5%, Waitrose )

Young Frappato is Sicily’s answer to a juicy Beaujolais, bursting with perfume and bouncy fruit flavours. This impressive find from Waitrose comes from vineyards in Trapani and Marsala and is a very well-priced example of the grape’s charms, with flavours of wild strawberry, pomegranate and candy floss, tangy acidity and a nip of tannin. The perfect end-of-summer chilled red.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-24Similar Wines: £5-9, 90-94, Italy, Red, Frappato
91

2021 Le Bijou de Sophie Valrose, Coteaux de Béziers, Languedoc

( £6.99 until August 30, 12.5%, Waitrose )

Fed up with paying high season Côte d’Azur prices to drink your favourite Côtes de Provence rosé? Then try this from the Languedoc instead. At the £3 off price until the end of the month, it’s one of the best pink bargains in the high street. Marrying Grenache with 40% Cinsault and 10% of a much rarer grape called Caladoc, this tastes as good as it looks, with raspberry, redcurrant and wild strawberry fruit, a hint of Medieterranean herbs and impressive depth and concentration. Perfect for the last two weeks of summer.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-24Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, France, Red, Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah
94

2020 Black Book Painter of Light Clayhill Vineyard Chardonnay, Essex

( £20, 12%, Black Book Winery )

Painter of Light is a superb expression of one of Essex’s finest vineyards, made by the talented Sergio Verrillo. With aromas of struck match and popcorn, it’s fresh and elegant, with racy acidity and a cheesy, salty, nutty palate with subtle stone fruit undertones. Weighty without being fat, it’s what great pre-climate change Chablis used to taste like. One of England’s finest whites.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-27Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, France, White, Chardonnay
93

2019 Angeline Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, California

( £19.99, 13.8%, Aitken Wines, Askew Wines, Cheers Wine Merchants, Flagship Wines, Framlington Wines, Harris Wines, New Forest Wines, Seven Cellars, St Andrews Wines, Stroud Wines )

It’s rare to find really good Californian Pinot Noir under £20 a bottle, especially if it comes from the ultra-trendy Russian River area. This is elegant, precise and very lightly oaked, with aromas of fennel and sweet baking spices, a palate of wild strawberry and goji berries, silky tannins and the supporting acidity that you’d expect from a region with cool Pacific influence. Fantastic value.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, United States, Red, Pinot Noir
93

2017 Quinta da Silveira Colheita Branco, Douro Valley

( £16.95, 12.5%, Davy's )

It’s something of a paradox. How can a region as hot as Portugal’s Douro Valley, home of full-throttle Ports, also produce elegant, graceful white wines? The answer lies in site selection, picking dates and the acidity of the local grapes. This cuvée of Rabigato, Gouveio, Viosinho and Arinto is a delicious example from winemaker Rodrigo Martins. It’s both lightly tropical and refreshing, with notes of caramelised pineapple, pear and green apple, fresh, almost salty acidity and a hint of kerosene that’s reminiscent of an aged Riesling. Remarkable at the price.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Portugal, White, Arinto, Gouveia, Rabigato, Viosinho
93

2021 Arbousset Tavel Rosé, Rhône

( £12.99, 13.5%, Tesco )

It’s not often that I get excited about a rosé – too many of them are like pale pink spots on a pink wall – but this is the real deal from the south of France. Made by Julie Rouffignac and Gérald Lafont, it’s an intense, deeply coloured number with lots of flavour and concentration to match. Structured and intense, Arbousset is almost a red wine, made from a harmonious cuvée of mostly Grenache with 20% each of Syrah and Cinsault. Juicy redcurrant, strawberry and red cherry fruit is complemented by a nip of savoury tannin.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-24Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, France, Red, Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah
92

2021 Domaine Maby La Fermade Blanc, Lirac, Rhône

( £11.95, 12.5%, Wine Society )

Varietal whites are so popular these days – all those Pinot Grigios, Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs – that it’s easy to overlook the charms of blended ones, especially when they’re made from an unusual combination of grapes. This wonderful, unoaked Rhône Valley example from Domaine May combines Clairette with 35% Grenache Blanc and 25% Picpoul and is engagingly fresh, stony and tangy, with citrus, quince and wild herb flavours and lovely mid-palate weight.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £11.95, 90-94, France, White, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul
90

2021 Tesco Finest Western Australia Chardonnay, Western Australia

( £8, 13%, Tesco )

I’m old enough to remember the days when most Australian Chardonnays were ripe, buttery and oaky. But the last decade or so has witnessed a remarkable transformation in the style of the country’s most famous white grape. This very lightly wooded, great value example from Howard Park shows you what I mean. Textured yet refreshing, with struck match and vanilla spice aromas, waxed lemon and grapefruit flavours and a taut, appealingly refreshing finish.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Australia, White, Chardonnay
91

2021 Domaine Zafeirakis Malagousia, Tirnavos

( £12.99, 13%, Waitrose )

This delicious Greek stunner isn’t available in all of Waitrose’s stores, but it’s well worth tracking down. Made from organically farmed Malagousia grapes on schist soils close to Mount Olympus, Christos Zafeirakis’ unoaked white is floral, musky and enticing, with passion fruit, citrus and clementine flavours and stony, refreshing acidity.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-25Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, Greece, White, Malagousia
90

2020 Incanta Pinot Noir, Romania

( £6.49, 12.5%, Majestic )

Given the high prices of top red Burgundy these days, we Pinot Noir lovers are always on the lookout for more affordable examples of our favourite red grape. Chile is a good place to start, but I don’t think it can compete with the quality of this Romanian red. Sourced as an exclusive parcel for Majestic, it tastes as good as it looks. Racy, supple and perfumed, with raspberry, pomegranate and wild strawberry flavours, tangy acidity and fine-grained tannins. Remarkable at £6.49.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Romania, Red, Pinot Noir
91

2020 Creation Chardonnay, Walker Bay

( £12.99, 13.5%, Majestic )

Winemaker Jean-Claude Martin calls this his “village wine”, produced from 11 different blocks at Creation, tucked away at the top end of the painterly Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Deftly wooded in 10% new barrels, it has an engaging combination of citrus, pear, nutmeg and beeswax flavours lifted by acidity. A very impressive Cape white from a Chardonnay master.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, South Africa, White, Chardonnay