Blending components from the steep-sided Sil and Miño Valleys, this wonderfully gluggable, organically farmed red is based on Mencía with bits and pieces of other co-planted grapes, according to Pedro Rodríguez. Engagingly intense and floral, it’s a white wine drinker’s red in some ways, with lots of zip and acidity, violet and rose petal aromas, refined tannins and layers of raspberry, pomegranate and wild strawberry. Drink lightly chilled.
Food Match: Pork
2019 I Ciacca Nostalgia Maturano, Val di Comino, Lazio
( £28.68, 12%, Shelved Wine )Something a little different this week. Maturano, not to be confused with Spanish Maturana Blanca, is a new Italian white grape variety to me. Sourced from vines at 600 metres inside a national park between Rome and Naples, it’s very much a southern style, with some appealing bottle age adding complexity. Lees fermented and aged in concrete, it’s appealingly unwooded, with musky, baking spice aromas, a palate of pear, honey and orange zest, some underlying, food-friendly grip and much more acidity than you think on first acquaintance.
2020 Domaine Joseph Burrier Juliénas Beauvernay, Beaujolais
( £17.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Juliénas has always been one of the more highly regarded of the ten Beaujolais Crus, and rightly so in my book. Showing the structure that often seems to feature in the granite-based wines of the northern Beaujolais, this is a complex, layered, intensely perfumed Gamay that’s all about fruit rather than oak, with plum, bramble and raspberry flavours and enough tannin and backbone to develop further in bottle.Lip-smacking stuff.
2021 Santa Venere Cirò Rosso, Calabria
( £10.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Wines from the southern Italian region of Calabria are comparatively rare in the UK, but this great value, unwooded Gaglioppo from organic vineyards close to the Ionian Sea makes you wonder why. Spicy, earthy and bright, it has has bramble, black tea and red cherry flavours, supple tannins and a dusting of wild herbs. A wine that massively overdelivers at its price point.
Planeta Mamertino, Sicily
( £20.79, 13.5%, The Great Wine Company )I have a recent podcast with Alessio Planeta to thank for introducing me to this delicious wine from northern Sicily. Mamertino was famous during Roman times – Julius Caesar was a fan – but it’s less well known today, even among Italophiles. Made from Nero d’Avola, arguably the island’s best red grape, and much rarer Nocera, this has flavours of clove and sweet spices, plum and red cherry fruit, savoury tannins and tangy maritime acidity. Quintessentially Mediterranean.
2020 Vinos López La Bodegaza Blanco Valdejalón, Aragón
( £16.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )A wine that blew my mind at the Wine Society’s recent press tasting, this is an excellent new discovery from buyer Pierre Mansour. A Garnacha Blanca that tastes as good as it looks, it hails from 50-year-old vines in Valdejalón, and has incredible intensity and focus. Salty, bone dry and lightly toasty, it has lovely aromas of wet stones, jasmine and thyme and a palate of quinine, sourdough bread and citrus peel.
2021 Acústic Auditori Blanc Vinyes Velles Nobles, Montsant
( £31.50, 14%, Lea & Sandeman )Montsant in Catalonia is better known for toothsome reds than whites, but this old-vine blend of mostly Garnacha Blanca with 19% Xarel-lo and 5% Macabeo from Albert Jané is a revelation. Rich, complex, layered and intense, it has plenty of buttery weight from long lees ageing, aromas of fennel and thyme, flavours of pear, quince and nutmeg and a bright, fresh, stony finish. Utterly delicious.
2022 Cramele Recas Orange Natural Wine, Romania
( £10.99, 12.5%, Adnams, Hennings Wine Merchants, Tanners, The Vintage Wine Merchants )The kind of natural, skin-contact wine that’s a pleasure to drink – not always the case, alas – this is a four-way, pan-Romanian assemblage of Fetească Regală, Muscat Ottonel, Riesling and Pinot Grigio, showing admirable freshness for a wine that was made without added sulphites. Musk, brioche and white flower aromas are a scented introduction to a palate of orange zest, rose water, citrus and quince and a touch of tannic grip.
2021 Yalumba Samuel's Collection Viognier, Eden Valley
( £15.99, 13%, Amazon, Taurus Wines )This is one of three Viogniers that Louisa Rose makes at Yalumba, and it’s my favourite of the trio, despite being the mid-priced offering. Wonderfully pure, enticing aromas of orange blossom and stem ginger segue into a palate of cream, white peach and citrus zest. This has lovely freshness and zip, subtle texture, understated oak and a spicy finish.
2020 Sylvain Pataille Aligoté, Burgundy
( £17, 12%, The Wine Society )Burgundian winemakers used to be a bit sniffy about Aligoté, but climate change has prompted a shift in attitude to the tangy, famously acidic grape variety, exemplified by the Aligoteurs movement of which Sylvain Pataille is a leading figure. This is a brilliant wine from an outstanding producer that could sell at twice the price, showing a touch of older oak, citrus, wet stone and green apple flavours, nice texture and weight and the concentration that often seems to come from old vines.
2021 Bellingham The Bernard Series Chenin Blanc, Coastal
( £11, 13.5%, Tesco )I’ve just spent the best part of a month in South Africa and I’m more in love with Cape Chenin Blanc than ever. This is not the cheapest example in the high street, but it’s worth spending a little more to buy a wine of this quality. Sourced from 40-year-old vineyards, it’s a rich yet refreshing white that shows the cool elegance of the 2021 vintage. Honey, peach and citrus fruit flavours are framed by scented oak, green apple acidity and a dusting of patisserie spices.
2022 Paul Mas Réserve Languedoc Blanc, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £9.99, 13%, Waitrose )Jean-Claude Mas is making some of the best wines in the south of France right now and is next to unbeatable for value under £10. This brilliant white blend is a more or less equal cuvée of Vermentino, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc with a splash of Viognier for extra perfume. Lightly but stylishly wooded, it has jasmine and rose petal aromas and a palate that combines flavours of peach, pear and citrus and a twist of Mediterranean herbs.