I told you Janice McDonald was an ace white wine maker and this is further proof of her talents, this time with Riesling. This is a beautifully, poised, ageworthy style, focused and pithy with youth on its side and bone dry, lime-scented fruit. Buy a few bottles and see how they age over the next decade or so.
Food Match: Vegetables
2012 Simply Garnacha Rosé, Campo de Borja
( £4.59 down to £3.44, 13.5%, Tesco )You don’t get much for less than £3.50 these days, but this Garnacha pink from Bodegas Borsao is very drinkable stuff: dry and pleasantly fruity with flavours of rosehip, cherry and strawberry and vibrant acidity, especially noteworthy from such a warm Spanish region. A chance of celebrate the end of a memorable summer in the UK.
2011 Finest* Saint Mont, Gascony
( £6.99 down to £5.24, 12.5%, Tesco )The brilliant Plaimont co-operative has done stellar work teasing interesting flavours out of its mostly little known local grapes (Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu and Arufiac, in case you wanted to work on your ampelography skills). This pithy, unoaked blend has plenty of perfume and zesty flavours of pink grapefruit and cox’s apple. The finish is appealingly dry and even a little chalky.
2011 Finest* Albariño, RÃas Baixas
( £7.99 down to £5.99, 12.5%, Tesco )It’s a reflection of how Albariño, one of Spain’s best white grapes, has entered the UK mainstream that the major supermarkets nearly all have own-label examples these days. This is from the ever-dependable Martin Codax, and it’s a classy example of the style, showing some spritz, floral aromas, tangy acidity and notes of citrus and honeysuckle. Very quaffable.
2011 Finest* Boranup Sauvignon/Semillon, Western Australia
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 14%, Tesco )Janice McDonald is one of the best white winemakers in Western Australia, with a particularly adept touch with Bordeaux varieties. This Sauvignon/Semillon two step has no oak, so it’s very much a New World rather than a Graves (Bordeaux) style, but that’s part of its appeal. Aromatic and herbal, with palate-tingling acidity and fresh grapefruit and gooseberry notes.
2012 Taste the Difference Pouilly-Fumé, Loire Valley
( £11.49 down to £8.61, 12.5%, Sainsbury's )Under £10 (at least until August 4) this has to be the best value Sauvignon Blanc in the country. Even at its regular price, it’s an outstanding Loire example of the grape. Pithy, intense and focused with flavours of white pepper, citrus fruit and green herbs, mouthwatering acidity and a fine, minerally finish. Bravo, André Figeat.
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!
2012 Thymiopoulos Winery, Atma Malagouzia/Roditis, Central Greece
( £10, 12%, Oddbins )Greek white varieties deserve to be better appreciated, partly because theu retain acidity and pefume in a warm climate. This is a case in point: aromatic, lime-scented and surprisingly light, with good, sappy acidity and undertones of summer flowers.
2011 François Lurton, Janeil, Gros Manseng & Sauvignon, Côtes de Gascogne
( £7.25, 12.5%, Oddbins )The sort of wine that has made Gascony one of the best value-for-money white wine regions in France, this is a comparativley unusual blend of Sauvignon and Gros Manseng, a grape more often found in Jurançon. It’s tangy, refreshing and crisp, with peach, apricot and grapefruit flavours and a zesty finish.
2011 Jacques & Nathalie Saumaize, Saint-Véran, En Crèches, Mâconnais, Burgundy
( £11.50, 13%, The Wine Society )Supple for a 2011, but showing good underlying acidity, this southern Burgundian Chardonnay is all about fruit and focus, not oak. It’s taut and fresh with a whiff of orange zest, and flavours of fennel, white peach and pear.
2012 Semeli Wines, Feast, Moschofilero, Peloponnese
( £8.50, 12%, Oddbins )It’s a pleasure to be recommending a bottle from Oddbins as my wine of the week once more! And what better way to start than something from Greece, long an Oddbins speciality? This is a musky, perfumed, dry white with hints of pear and rosepetal, crunchy acidity and a tangy, seafoood-friendly finish. A great introdcution to an indigenous grape variety.
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.