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.
Food Match: Pork
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.
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.
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 Hatzidakis, Assyrtikos, Santorini
( £13.75, 13.5%, Oddbins )if you’re flirting with Greek wines but haven’t consumated the relationship yet, this is the place to start. Sourced from the volcanic island of Santorini, it’s rich, spicy, yet unoaked, with plenty of weight, notes of pear and fresh hay and a thrilling backbone of stony acidity. Like a cross between a Chablis and a Rhône blend, but with a herbal, Mediterranean twist that is all its own.
2011 Gut Oggau Winifred, Burgenland
( POA, 12%, Dynamic Wines )Made from a field blend of Bläufrankisch and Zweigelt, and with a wonderful burnished rose hue. There’s an exotic aroma of wild strawberries, and attractive herbaceous character to the lightweight fruit. Just when you think this might be another simplistic summer rosé, it builds to a more complex savoury finish.
2010 Gut Oggau Atanasius, Burgenland
( POA, 12%, Dynamic Wines )Although this is effectively Gut Oggau’s entry level red, there’s quite a serious intent to the dark leathery fruit aromas. The fruit is lively, with blackberries dominating the flavour. Elegant tannins lend gravitas to what is a fairly light style. Sandy/gravel soil.
2011 Gut Oggau Timotheus, Burgenland
( POA, 13%, Dynamic Wines )Just like the caricature on the label, this is a big broad wine. White peaches, apricot and kiwi flavours are all brilliantly knitted together with a moreish creamy, nutty texture. Some skin contact and maturation in large, old oak barrels has provided body and structure.
It’s different enough to make you sit up and notice, without being remotely scary or “difficult”. Limestone soil.
2009 Gut Oggau Mechtild, Burgenland
( POA, 13%, Dynamic Wines )Mechtild is one of two single vineyard wines made at Gut Oggau, in this case 60 year old Grüner Veltliner. There’s a salty, iodine tang on the nose, yielding to a fat, creamy palate. Fresh acidity and a lovely mineral finish.
2010 Greywacke Chardonnay, Marlborough
( £25.99, 14.5%, Swig )When he was at Cloudy Bay (and that was for over 20 years) Kevin Judd was better known for his Sauvignon Blancs thatn his Chardonnays, but the latter were sometimes even more exciting. This superb effort from the top notch 2010 vintages deserves a place among the country’s best interpretations of the grape. It’s smoky and toasty, with flavours of citrus and hazelnuts and a long, minerally finish that wouldn’t look out of place in Puligny-Montrachet.