Pinot Grigio and Pinot Nero are very close genetically, so why not combine them in a white wine, vinifying the latter without its skins? The result is rather tasty, with aromatic, Golden Delicious apple, pear and quince notes, and just a hint of wild strawberry. Unoaked, refined and well balanced, this is a real find for less than £10.
Food Match: Pork
2013 Los Amigos, Rogue Vine, Grand Itata, Itata Valley
( POA, 12.9% )I’m not sure what the varieties are here, but the fact that the wine comes from old bush vines in the Itatata Valley suggests that they are unlikely to be Chardonnay. All I know from Chilean winemaker Leonardo Erazo is that this is a field blend. It’s floral, fresh and comparatively low in alcohol reflecting its cool climate origins with notes of acacia honey, orange zest and white flowers and little or no oak in evidence. Minerally and fresh with considerable, savoury complexity.
2012 LaFou Els Amelers, Terra Alta
( £12.82, 13.5%, Contact the winery for details )Made entirely from Garnacha Blanca, this delicately oaked white is creamy and herbal, with lovely texture, pear and honeysucke fruit. a touch of aniseed and a taut, minerally finish.
2012 Mâcon-Villages-Uchizy, Burgundy
( £10.99 down to £8.24, 13%, Marks & Spencer )2012 was an excellent vintge for white Burgundy, from Chablis in the north to the Mâconnais in the south. This unoaked example from the Domaine Sallet Raphaël is a case in point, combining ripe, stone fruit flavours with tangy acidity and limestone-derived freshness. Very drinakble indeed, even for Chardonnay agnostics.
2012 Darting Estate Dürkheimer Kabinett Riesling Trocken, Pfalz
( £9.49 down to £7.12, 12.5%, Marks & Spencer )If your impression of German Riesling is that it tends to be sweet, try this off-dry number from one of the best names in the southerly Pfalz region. It’s very aromatic, with exotic, tropical fruit notes, a hint of carbon dioxide on the palate, lovely, crunchy, peach and apple fruit and bright, focused acidity.
2012 Palatia Pinot Noir, Pfalz
( £8.99 down to £6.74, 13%, Marks & Spencer )I’ve described this as the best value Pinot Noir in the UK before and I have no reason to change my mind, especially when it’s on a deal. It’s soft and fragrant with attractive strawberry fruit sweetness, supple tannins and fresh acidity. A hint of oak (from barrels, not staves) adds to the sense of a wine that is over-delivering. Well done, Gerd Stepp! If only Burgundy could do this under £9.
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 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!
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.
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.
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.