A Premier Cru Burgundy from a great recent vintage for less than £15? Bargain time! This is rich, sweet and savoury, with bgas of sweet fruit, plenty of smoky oak and the concentration and texture to age in bottle for another five years at least. The finish is fine and refreshing, reflectingf the limestone slope on which it was grown.
Retailer: Waitrose
2010 Joseph Drouhin, Chorey-lès-Beaune, Burgundy
( £15.99 down to £11.99, 13%, Waitrose )Drouhin is one of my favourite Burgundy négociants, equally adept at producing reds and whites. There may be some 2009 of this wine in the stores (as there is on line) but both recent vintages are superb. This is light, graceful and fragrant with fresh, crunchy acidity, a touch of minerality and balanced, nuanced red fruits’ flavours. Very impressive for a “mere” village wine.
2010 Le Passé Authentique, Producteurs de Plaimont, Saint-Mont, South-West France
( £9.99 down to £7.99, 13%, Waitrose )There aren’t many (any?) wines on supermarket shelves made from three such obscure varieties as Gros Manseng, Arrufiac and Petit Courbu, but that’s only one reason for buying this wine, especially on a deal at £7.99. It’s crunchy, refreshing and unoaked with notes of pink grapefruit, apricot and lemon zest, with an underlying note of stony minerality. The wine lingers on the tongue like a haunting refrain.
2011 Palacio de Fefiñanes Albariño, Rías Baixas
( £15.19, 12.5%, Waitrose )This is consistenly one of my very favourite Albariños (and Spanish whites for that matter) from the historic Fefiñanes winery. It’s spritzy, perfumed and refreshing with that Riesling-like crispness that you get in the best Galician whites, notes of pear and stone fruit and a long, satisfying, palate-tingling finish. The taste of (green) Spain.
2011 Phaedra Xynomavro Rosé, Macedonia
( £9.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )The best red grapes, Greece’s Xynomavro among them, invariably produce the best rosé wines. Good on Waitrose for listing a Greek example with ambition and personality: raspberry and wild strawberry fruit, a touch of sweetness and a nip of tannin on the finish.
2010 Txomin Etxaniz Chacolí de Guetaria, Basque Country
( £13.99, 11.35%, Waitrose )The wines of the Basque country don’t often leave Spain, partly because they are glugged so enthusiastically in the bars of San Sebastián and Bilbao, but also because they are difficult to pronounce. If you don’t know Chacolí as a wine style, it’s made from the Hondarribi Zuri grape, light in alcohol and often slightly spritzy. This one is tangy and refreshingly acidic, with a little fatness from lees contact and notes of apples and fresh lemons. Try it with sea food or a lip-smacking aperitif.
2010 Catena Malbec, Mendoza
( £12.49, 13.9%, Waitrose )This may be the best mid-priced Malbec yet from Argentina’s leading producer. It’s perfumed and stylish, with notes of violets and fresh plums on the nose, followed by ripe, but not over-ripe blackberry fruit, subtle vanilla oak, textured, grainy tannins and refreshing minerality and zip. The oak is better integrated than in previous releases and there’s welcome finesse here. Great now, but will develop in the bottle for another three to five years.
2009 Paololeo Primitivo di Manduria, Puglia
( £10.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )Paololeo is one of the most exciting producers of Primitivo in Puglia, making stylish, modern, concentrated wines that aspire to match the quality of southern Italy’s best reds, especially at a price like this. Figs and pepper spice on the nose, with sweet vanilla oak, flavours of dark chocolate, plum and fresh tobacco and a refreshing, yet structured finish. The wine looks as good as it tastes, which is saying a good deal. Drink now to 5 years.
2010 Domäne Wachau Terraces Grüner Veltliner, Wachau
( £8.49, down to £6.36 from June 29 to July 19, 12%, Waitrose )You might want to wait until this excellent, entry point Grüner goes on special offer at the end of the month, but it’s a really good wine with which to celebrate the arrival of summer. It’s taut, minerally and complex, with pure fruit flavours, no oak, and lovely aromas of white flowers, white pepepr and wet stones. The kind of thing that makes you want to sing in the (Viennese) woods.
2008 Cave de Beblenheim Grafenreben Riesling d'Alsace
( £8.82, 12%, Waitrose )It’s easy to forget about Alsace Riesling in the rush to buy examples of the grape from Germany and Australia, but they can be some of France’s best whites, especially if they are made in a dry style, like this one. The wine is fresh and delicate, with lovely lime-like flavours, some stony minerality, a hint of the complex bitterness that is so typical of the region and a fine, lingering finish.