Something of a coup for the Wine Society, where buyer Victoria Mason MW is doing exciting things with the retailer’s South African range, this is a new wine from a historic estate on the Paardeberg, now under new ownership as they say in the hotel trade. It’s a brilliant, layered, complex blend of Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne and the Hungarian grape Hárslevelü, with aromas of honeysuckle, fennel and wet stone and a tangy, racy palate of orange zest, pear and pink grapefruit. A wine that looks every bit as good as it tastes.
Food Match: Pasta
2024 Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner, Kremstal
( £9.50, 12.5%, Majestic )Winzer Krems is one of the best co-operatives in Europe, especially well known for its great-value Grüner Veltliners. This is a delicious summer white, best sipped by the Danube, but equally delicious wherever you choose to enjoy it. White pepper and bay leaf aromas are complemented by a palate of citrus and pear and a bitter twist from 18 days of skin contact.
2025 Luna Beberide Mencía, Bierzo
( £11.50, 13%, The Wine Society )Bierzo is arguably the Spanish region that is best qualified to call itself the “Burgundy of Spain”, assuming it feels the need to do so. The vineyards are often tiny, the wines produced in small quantities, the approach appealingly artisanal. The biggest difference is the price points, which is why I love wines like this unwooded Mencía from Luna Beberida. Crunchy, juicy and tangy, it has some stemmy grip, wonderful energy and focus, stony intensity and a core of pomegranate, plum and goji berry fruit. Lip-smackingly delicious.
2024 G de Château Guiraud, Bordeaux
( £18, 12.5%, The Co-op )Some stores may still be on the 2023, but make sure you track down the 2024 because it’s a textbook white Bordeaux at a very reasonable price. Combining Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon, it’s a fresh, tangy, herbal dry white from Château Guiraud, who also make one of my favourite Sauternes, with subtle toasty oak, flavours of citrus and pink grapefruit and lovely mid-palate texture.
2024 Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay, Margaret River
( £14.50, 12.5%, Majestic )Virginia Willcock makes some of the best value Chardonnays in Australia. This comes form the ocean-influenced Margaret River region and is a wonderful, refreshing, medium-bodied expression of the variety, with gentle oak spice and gunflint aromas. layers of citrus, lemongrass and oatmeal and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.
2023 Clos de Luz Agras País, Cachapoal Valley
( £13.95, 12.5%, The Wine Society )Agras uses a field blend of grapes from 100-year-old vines in the Cachapoal Valley, combining País and 10% Moscatel de Alejandría. Fermented with 20% whole bunches, it’s refreshingly low in alcohol at 12.5%, with jasmine and rose petal aromas, impressive underlying grip and concentration and a palate of redcurrant, cranberry and rooibos tea.
2025 te Pā Signature Rosé, Marlborough
( £10.25, 12%, The Co-op )A wine for people who like a bit of colour in their rosés and are bored of the identikit stuff from Provence, this is an appealingly unusual blend of mostly Pinot Noir with 3% Riesling and 2% Merlot from Marlborough in New Zealand. Just off dry, it’s reminiscent of a Tavel from the Rhône Valley, with raspberry, pink grapefruit and red cherry flavours, a nip of tannin and more than enough acidity to lift and freshen the finish.
2023 Domaine Jones Les Parcelles, Languedoc
( From £16.50, 13%, Booths, Loki Wines )English winemaker Katie Jones is making some of the most characterful wines in the south of France at the moment, curating small parcels of old vines to produce really special whites and reds. This assemblage comes from five sites around her home village of Tuchan in the Aude, combining Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc and Muscat. Tangy, herbal and garrigue scented, it has layers of quince, pear and lemon zest, a hint of oak and an appealing bitter twist.
2021 Tenuta Terrose Vino Nobile de Montepulciano Riserva, Tuscany
( £16.95, 14%, The Co-op )Based on the Sangiovese grape, known locally at Prugnolo Gentile, with support from 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot, this is a very well-priced red from one of Tuscany’s most famous DOCGs. Showing the grip and focus that come with the territory, it has plum, damson and tobacco leaf flavours, sinewy tannins, a waft of black tea and Mediterranean herbs and nicely understated older oak.
2024 Domaine Albert de Conti La Cuvée des Conti, Bergerac
( £12.50, 13%, The Wine Society )This great-value Bergerac Blanc is a fantastic example of what used to be known, a little patronisingly perhaps, as a French country wine. Combining Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and a splash of Muscadelle, it’s racy, tangy and refreshing, with top notes of parsley and wet stones, crunchy acidity and layers of lemongrass, gooseberry and pink grapefruit. A delicious spring white.
2023 Sogrape Grão Vasco Vinho Tinto, Dão
( £8.50, 13%, Tesco )Grão Vasco always reminds me of my late friend Salvador Guedes, who once ran Sogrape in Portugal, as we drank it together watching a third-division football match in the Dão region, where it comes from. Always a reliable quaffer – and a little bit more – it’s a smooth, full-flavoured blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Alfrocheiro and 10% other local grapes with bramble, raspberry and summer pudding flavours and a nip of chewy tannin.
2022 Taste the Difference Barbera d'Asti, Piedmont
( £9.75, 14.5%, Sainsbury's )I often think of Barbera as a wine for Nebbiolo drinkers on a budget, as it has some of the tannic structure of its more famous Piedmontese partner, if not quite the same perfume and nobility. This excellent example comes from the excellent Araldica co-operative and is appealingly juicy and intense, with lovely plum, damson and blackberry fruit flavours, lots of racy acidity and a backbone of sinewy tannins.