Good value by the standards of some Provence rosés – surely one of the most profitable wine styles in the world – this is an appealingly packaged, lip-smacking pink from Les Grands Chais de France. Based on Grenache, with the remaining 40% made up of six other red and white grapes, it has good focus and intensity, redcurrant, watermelon and rosehip flavours and a refreshing, chalky finish.
Food Match: Salads
2021 Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling, Great Southern, Western Australia
( £9, 13%, Tesco )One of those wines that’s so good I still want to stop strangers in the street and tell them about it after all these years, Tingelup Riesling has been one of the very best – and best value – wines in the Tesco lineup for as long as I can remember. Made by ace winemaker Janice McDonald of Howard Park in Western Australia, it’s wonderfully tangy, bone dry Aussie white with lime and waxed lemon peel intensity, stony, mouth-watering acidity and a long tapering finish.
2019 Adnams English Crouch Valley Rosé, Essex
( £14.99, 11.5%, Adnams )English fizzes have gained a lot of well-deserved coverage over the last decade or so, but the still wines are catching up fast, especially the ones from – believe it or not – Essex. This is a very tasty, spring-saluting pink from Crouch Valley, made with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Tangy, crunchy and bone dry with racy acidity and flavours of rosehip, cranberry and wild strawberry. Appealingly refreshing, it’s a great alternative to a Côtes de Provence rosé.
2019 Château Barthès Rosé, Bandol
( £13, 13.5%, The Co-op )Bandol rosé isn’t as hip as the pinks from the nearby Côtes de Provence appellation, but it can be every bit as good and often cheaper than celebrity-owned or endorsed brands. This pale, co-fermented cuvée of Grenache with 30% each of Mourvèdre and Cinsault from Philippe Barthès has lovely texture and weight, with a little more grip than many Provençal rosés, juicy watermelon and raspberry fruit and a faint nip of tannin. Boy, would I like to be drinking this in the south of France right now.
2020 Mimo Moutinho Portuguese Loureiro, Vinho Verde
( £6.49, 11.5%, Aldi )Vinho Verde gets a bad rap sometimes, deservedly so in its sweeter iterations, but can be wonderful if it’s made in a pithy, dry style. This great value Loureiro from Aldi is appealingly fresh and focused, with low alcohol, lime and lemon zest flavours, a hint of carbon dioxide and a pure, tangy, Atlantic Ocean-influenced finish. Just the thing for a seafood supper.
2020 Craggy Range Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc, Martinborough
( £12.50-£16.99, 13.5%, Harvey Nichols, Specialist Cellars, The Wine Society, Vinum )Ahead of Sauvignon Blanc day tomorrow, I’ve been enjoying a few glasses of this Kiwi example from the brilliant Craggy Range. Most New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc comes from Marlborough, so this is something a little different, not least because a part of the wine was fermented in foudres and smaller oak barrels, but also because it comes from Martinborough, a region best known for its Pinot Noirs. Tangy, zesty and complex, with lime, passion fruit and nectarine flavours, racy acidity and a dry finish. The mid-palate is textured and slightly salty.
2020 Found Moschofilero & Roditis, Peloponnese
( £8.50, 12% )Part of an exciting new range of little known grape varieties from Marks & Spencer, most of which are at very reasonable prices, this is a cuvée of Moschofilero with 20% Roditis from two separate vineyards in the Peloponnese peninsula. Winemaker Leonidas Nassiakos of Semeli has produced a tangy, scented, seafood friendly white with lime, lemongrass and wild herb flavours and a long, refreshing finish. Bring on the summer!
Douro Valley Ramos Pinto Duas Quintas Reserva White
( £31.30, 13.5%, Wine Buyers )For local grape varieties make up the blend here – Arinto, Folgazão, Rabigato and Viosinho – sourced from vineyards on the southern side of the Douro Valley in their Quintas de Ervamoira and Bons Ares. An appealing counterpoint to the more powerful reds and fortifieds of the region, this has lovely freshness, aromas of fennel, citrus and oatmeal and a youthful, tangy, deftly wooded palate. Should develop further in bottle.
2018 Cuatro Rayas Cuarenta Vendimias, Rueda
( €8.50, 13.5%, Available from the winery )The vines used to produce this impressive, well-priced Verdejo from the go-ahead Cuatro Rayas co-operative are “only” 40 years old, but that would be considered ancient in some parts of the world. Rich and almost exotic, with notes of lychee and white peach, some subtle oak from 20% barrel fermentation in 500-litre barrels and zesty, crunchy acidity.
2016 Le Faîte Producteurs Plaimont, Saint Mont, Gascony
( £20.95, 13.5% )Gascony used to be regarded as foie gras and Armagnac country (not necessarily at the same time) until the Producers Plaimont co-operative came along and changed the image of the region’s dry reds and whites. Le Faîte is their top white blend, made from a trio of local grapes – Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng and Petit Courbu – and is a stunning cuvée, somewhere between a Spanish Albariño and a Greek Assyrtiko in style. Pithy, saline and very complex, with quince, apple and grapefruit flavours, mouth-watering acidity and the concentration to age brilliantly in bottle.
2018 Waitrose Blueprint Provence Rosé, Côtes de Provence
( £8.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )This very stylish pale rosé is great value at £8.99, but at the offer price of £6.74 until July 7th (as long as you buy six bottles from the overall Waitrose range), it’s the kind of thing that would have people queuing up on the Côte d’Azur if it were available there. Racy, refreshing and delicate, it’s less than half the price of many more famous names but over-delivers in the glass. Textured and well balanced, with raspberry and redcurrant flavours and a satisfying dry finish.