Alaverdi only produce around 20,000 bottles a year, and they had already run out of the 2010 vintage when we visited in November 2012. This 2011 Qvevri sample needs another year for the rather brutal tannins to resolve, but the purity and focus of the dark, berry fruit is evident. There’s some attractive ginger spiciness, terrific freshness and what Charles Metcalfe describes very aptly as a “balsamic hint”.
Food Match: Pork
2010 Alaverdi Monastery Rkatsiteli, Kakheti
( POA, 13%, Les Caves de Pyrene )This is the wine that first won me over to the charms of the qvevri – the most astoundingly complex nose of tea leaves, baked apples, jasmine, herbs and plum compote (and bear in mind my description does not remotely do it justice). Very much an amber/orange style, with chewy but perfectly ripe tannins – and yet the fruit shines through effortlessly. Outstanding.
2008 Château Doisy-Daëne Blanc Sec, Bordeaux
( £19.95, 12.5%, Tanners )Who says Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t age? When it’s made by Denis Dubourdieu, an academic and hands on winemaker who specialises in the variety, it can be spectacularly good. This is like a mini white Graves, with toasty, bottle-aged complexity, zesty acidity, tangy grapefruit-like flaovurs and a smoky undertone. The wine is delicious now but has more ageing potential if previous releases are a guide.
2011 Leitz Rheingau Riesling Spätlese, Rheingau
( £12.99, 10%, Sainsbury's )Made by the talented Johannes Leitz, this is a modern Rheingau Riesling from a very good vintage, with classic sweet and sour flavours of apple and stone fruit, 47 grams of sugar, some extra weight from lees contact and a long, crunchy finish. Very refreshing, despite the residual sugar.
2010 Château de Pennautier, Cabardès, Languedoc
( £5.99, 13.5%, Majestic )A lipsmacking blend of five red grapes from one of the cooler, more Atlantic influenced sub-regions of the Languedoc, this is light and refreshing in a Bordeaux meets the Midi sort of way, with some pepper spice, a bit of mint and oak and bags of aroma. Great value, too.
2011 Waitrose Beaujolais
( £6.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )2011 turned out to be a very drinkable vintage in Beaujolais, just as it did in neighbouring Burgundy, and this own-lablel from teh Georges Duboeuf stable is a red-fruited thirstquencher with pithy acidity and notes of cherry and raspberry.
2010 Scott Shiraz/Sangiovese, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
( £14.99, 14%, Oddbins )A really innovative blend (12% of it Sangiovese) from a comparatively new Adelaide Hills winery, this is a very smart, textured red with cherrystone and plumskin aromas, supple, yet savoury tannins, bramble and mint flavours and an Italianate dry flourish. One of the best Italian-influenced reds I’ve had from Down Under.
2011 The Society's White Burgundy, Mâcon-Villages, Burgundy
( £7.50, 12.5%, The Wine Society )Hugely quaffable white Burgundy from the southernn end of the region, made without oak but with some lees contact to fatten it out. Peach and pear flavours are underpinned by some carbon dioxide and a lift of acidity.
2010 Errazuriz, Max Reserva Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley
( £12.49, 13.5%, Berry Bros & Rudd, The Leamington Wine Company )A comparatively old-fashioned, worked style of Chardonnay, with lots of sweet peach and coconut flavours, but plenty of fresh acidity to keep the whole barrage ballon up in the air. Mealy and slightly sweet, with bags of fruit.
2011 Allegrini, Valoplicella, Veneto
( £8, 13%, Liberty Wines )Juicy, modern Valpol with more weight than most examples of Italy’s wine bar red. Unoaked, packed with brambly, raspberry fruit and bright acidity. A wine that surprises you with its seriousness. Perfect for a screwcap closure.
2010 Albert Bichot, Domaine Long Depaquit Chablis, Burgundy
( £13, 12.5%, Soho Wine Supply )The wines from Albert Bichot are on a steep upward curve at the moment, nowhere more so than in Chablis. This is a classic, unoaked style with notes of oyster shell, steely acidity and enough creaminess on the tongue to bind the whole thing together. Fresh, zesty and utterly transparent. You can almost see the terroir in your glass.
2010 Beaumont Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc, Bot River
( £16, 13%, The Wine Society )Rightly awarded Five Stars in the recent edition of South Africa’s Platter Guide, this is a sublime Cape Chenin Blanc. It’s made in a Chenin meets Chardonnay style, with vanilla-scented barrel fermentation and some nice texture from the lees. The Chenin part provides fresh acidity, notes of apple and subtle tropical fruit and a fine finish. The wine should develop further over the next two or three years.