Over the last decade or so, the Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch have emerged as one of the best places in the world to grow Syrah. It’s a region that produces wines that can go toe-to-toe with the best of the northern Rhône. This wine from Danie Carinus’ own vines, vinified by superstar winemaker Lukas van Loggerenberg, is crazily good value for money. It has enticing clove, lavender and white pepper aromas, tangy blackberry and tapenade flavours and a whisper of oak. Delicious.
Retailer: The Wine Society
2024 The Society's Greek White, Greece
( £8.95, 12.5%, The Wine Society )The Wine Society has made a specialism of Greece and it’s paid off in the quality of the stuff they import from one of Europe’s most exciting wine-producing countries. This is a scented, zingy blend of Moschofilero and Roditis that would be ideal with a piece of grilled fish and a bowl of green olives. Flavours of lemongrass, wild thyme and citrus peel are complemented by notes of fennel and sea salt and a hint of quinine-like bitterness. Remarkably good at the price.
2024 Familie Mantler Gemischter Satz, Niederösterreich
( £8.75, 11.5%, The Wine Society )The kind of thing you’d be delighted to come across in a Heuriger, or wine tavern, in the hills above Vienna, this a cracking, unoaked white that’s perfect for spring. Refreshingly light bodied and spritzy, it’s based on Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s most distinctive variety, with support from 15% Müller-Thurgau and 5% Muskateller. Juicy, tangy and thirst-quenchingly refreshing, with appealing lime, passion fruit and boiled sweets’ flavours and a touch of balancing sweetness.
2023 Botanica Mary Delany Collection Chenin Blanc, Citrusdal Mountain
( £27, 13%, The Wine Society )Consistently one of the best Chenin Blancs in the Cape, the Mary Delany Collection uses grapes from a 1960 block between 450 and 500 metres on the Citrusdal Mountain. Fermented and aged in older barrels, it has aromas of hay and wild flowers, flavours of lime and passion fruit, subtle wood and a tangy, tapering finish. An exceptional wine from an exceptional site.
2018 Domaine de Montbourgeau L'Etoile Savagnin, Jura
( £27, 14.5%, The Wine Society )It’s great to see a UK retailer selling a mature Jura white of such quality! This is a very well-priced, deliberately oxidised style of the local Savagnin grape from Domaine de Montbourgeau that’s savoury, dense and bone-dry, with hints of beeswax, citrus and salted almonds, some underlying tannic grip and a persistent finish. Try it with dried mushrooms or a piece of Comté cheese.
2020 Reyneke Biodynamic Syrah, Stellenbosch
( £14.95, 13%, The Wine Society )The Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch are one the best places in the New World to grow Syrah and no one does it better than Johan “the vine hugger” Reyneke. Fermented with 30% whole bunches, this has enticing aromas of pine and lavender and a vibrant, spicy, grippy palate of fig, white pepper and barbecued meat. An amazing bargain at under £15.
2023 Benanti Etna Bianco, Sicily
( £22, 12.5%, The Wine Society )Etna in north-east Sicily is better known for its reds than whites, but the best examples of the latter, made from the local grape Carricante, can be spectacular, somewhere between a Burgundian Aligoté and a top Soave in style. This is totally unoaked, but draws richness from six months of lees’ ageing. Stony and intense, with notes of lime, fennel and lemon juice, steely, palate-cleansing acidity and a mineral tang. Best drunk with the Mediterranean sun on your face, but it’ll cheer you up in winter too.
2021 Manda Huevos Carramainas, Calatayud
( £15, 13.2%, The Wine Society )Norrel Robertson MW, known as the Escocés Volante (Flying Scotsman), is making some of the most distinctive wines in northern Spain right now. Manda Huevos – Spanish slang for “no way!” – is a remarkable, barrel-fermented cuvée of Macabeo and 5% Garnacha Blanca from an 85-year-old vineyard at 850 metres in Calatayud. Creamy, spicy and stylishly wooded, it has notes of beeswax and citrus zest, stony intensity and a hint of vanilla spice.
2021 Santa Tresa Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily
( £11.50, 14%, The Wine Society )Cerasuolo di Vittoria often tastes as if its comes from a cooler place than the south-east corner of Sicily. This one from Santa Tresa is fuller bodied than some examples of the DOCG thanks to partial raisining on the vine, but retains the freshness and perfume that are so distinctive. Pairing Nero d’Avola and brighter, more charming Frappato, it has red cherry, plum and wild Meditteranean herb flavours, savoury tannins and a refreshing finish.
2022 Villard Grand Vin Le Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley
( £21, 13.5%, The Wine Society )The best Pinot Noir yet from Chilean-based Villard père and fils, Thierry and Charlie, this is the sort of thing that should have Burgundy lovers reaching for their wallets and purses. Fermented with 10% whole bunches and aged in 20% new wood, it’s sappy and intense, with a waft of vanilla spice, subtle reduction, raspberry and black cherry fruit and a thrilling mineral core.
2022 The Society's Chinon, The Loire Valley
( £9.99, 13%, The Wine Society )Partly inspired by a line in Peter Pharos’ latest column, I’ve decided to feature a Chinon as my wine of the week. The Loire Valley is one of those under-rated French regions that consistently delivers great value for money, especially for Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc lovers. This is a gloriously scented, leafy, unwooded example of the former grape from Famille Bougrier, with crunchy acidity, raspberry and black cherry flavours and top notes of graphite and green herbs. Appealingly juicy.
2018 Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £26, 14.5%, Cambridge Wine Merchants, D. Byrne & Co, Fortnum & Mason, The Wine Society )Fans of the mass-produced, bungee jump into a gooseberry style of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc might not appreciate the ambition or the layered complexity of this wooded, wild yeast-fermented style from the Dog Point team. But tough on them. It’s one of the most complex whites in New Zealand, with notes of gunflint, blackcurrant leaf and vanilla spice, lots of racy, mouth-watering acidity and a savoury finish. Deliberately released late by Jamey Healy and Ivan Sutherland’s in oder to challenge received notions about Sauvignon Blanc.