A crisp, fruity, aromatic quaffer from Sardinia, with appelaing acidity, some boiled sweets on the nose and flavours of fennel, stone fruit and citrus. Very summery.
Food Match: Fish
2012 Principe Pallavicini Poggio Verde Frascati Superiore Secco, Rome
( £8.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Proper, bone-dry Frascati with good concentration and plenty of herbal, Mediterranean flavours. Saline and slightly bitter (no bad thing here, if you’re drinking the wine with food), this is a tangy, palate-cleansing white with a nutty finish.
2012 The Society's Vinho Verde, Minho
( £5.95, 11.5%, The Wine Society )Summer may be over (at least in northern Europe), but this is still a delicously refreshing, low-alcohol Portuguese white that’s just the thing for sunny afternoons. It’s commendably cheap, too. Tangy, spritzy and zingy, it’s floral and dry with palate-tickling acidity and a citrus fruit bite.
2012 Bolo Godello Mountain Wine, Valdeorras
( £9.95, 13%, The Wine Society )Alabriño may be more familiar to consumers than Godello, but the latter grape can be just as exciting. It’s more mineral and weighty (and even works well with oak on occasion). This high altitude example is fresh and bone dry, with a chalky, almost Chablis-like note and flavours of citrus, apple and pear.
2012 The Society's Albariño, RÃas Baixas
( £12.95, 13%, The Wine Society )If you’re going to use one winery as your source of house Albariño, Pazo de Señorans is a great choice. This is weighty and concentrated by local standards, showing aromas of lime blossom and fresh straw, crisp, apple and citrus fruit and an undertone of stony minerality. Long and very stylish.
2009 The Liberator (This Bird Has Flown), Swartland
( £11.95, 14.5%, The Wine Society )This Cape blend of Chenin, Viognier, Chardonnay and Clairetter Blanche won’t be to everyone’s taste – it’s got some age to it and a developed, Sherry-like not – but I salute its ambiiton and left field flavours. Rich and honeyed, with some vanilla and nutmeg spice, fresh acidity and bags of concentration. Appealingly funky.
2012 Chartreuse de Mourgères Le Pèlerin Blanc, Pays de Caux
( £6.25, 12.5%, The Wine Society )The grapes for this blend of Sauvignon, Vermentino and a hint of grapey Muscat come from land formerly owned by a Carthusian monastery in the Languedoc. It’s certainly an unusual wine with notes of wild herbs and flowers and a slight sweetness that reminds you of acacia honey. The Muscat adds an oily richness to the crisp frame.
2012 Esprit de Labaside, Le Perlé, Gaillac
( £5.95, 12%, The Wine Society )Made by the local Gaillac co-op, this all Mauzac white is slightly sparkling – hence the perlé name. It’s a fresh, medium bodied white that’s a little like a Spanish Albariñon in flavour and texture. Tangy and fresh with flavours of pear and apple and a hint of tangerine. Very quaffable.
2011 Tanners Mosel Riesling Kabinett, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
( £10.95, 11%, Tanners )The supplier for Tanners’ impressive own-label Mosel Riesling Kabinett is none other than the Max Ferd. Richter winery, which is something of a coup. The result is delicious. It’s at the lower end of the sweetness scale (at 27 grams per litre), showing 11% alcohol and a comparatviely “dry” finish. Youthful and zingy, with a touch of carbon dioxide and racy, palate-tingling acidity.
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.
2012 Simply Garnacha Rosé, Campo de Borja
( £4.59 down to £3.44, 13.5%, Tesco )You don’t get much for less than £3.50 these days, but this Garnacha pink from Bodegas Borsao is very drinkable stuff: dry and pleasantly fruity with flavours of rosehip, cherry and strawberry and vibrant acidity, especially noteworthy from such a warm Spanish region. A chance of celebrate the end of a memorable summer in the UK.
2012 Finest* Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc
( £7.49 down to £5.62, 12.5%, Tesco )This wine picked up a best white of show award at a Southern French competition I was involved in earlier this year, so it has proven pedigree. It’s the kind of thing that tastes best with a plate of oysters or, failing that, a piece of white fish or some scallops, but it’s great on its own, too. Pear, apple and a hint of tropical fruit combine appealingly on the palate here, with good acidity and impressive concentration for an every-day white.