The 20% oak ageing is quite prominent on the nose and palate here, reminding me of a white Rioja (same grape, but more concentration in Empordà), but there’s enough texture and concentration for it to integrate over time. Another young producer who has rejuvenated old family vines to fashion something with real personality: minerality, wild herbs and some vanilla sweetness.
Score Range: 86-90
2011 Oliver Conti Treyu, Empordà
( E7, 12.5%, El Celler Petit )It’s easy to judge the white wines from Oliver Conti too young, even this unoaked cuvée of Macebeu and Gewürztraminer. This combines perfume, spice, fresh acidity and a touch of grapeskin bitterness on the palate, underpinned by some creamy, lees-derived fatness. It’s an unusual wine, with the Gewürz adding some ginger spice to the Macabeu. Try cellaring it.
2011 Finest Côtes Catalanes Carignan, Roussillon
( £6.99, 13.5%, Tesco )I sometimes feel as if I’m the president, founder and only member of the Carignan appreciation society, which is strange, given how good this grape can taste, especially when its vines are old. That’s the case here in this chunky Roussillon red, sourced from bush vines close to the Pyrenees. It’s a big, bold, appropriately rustic number with notes of thyme, rosemary and pepper spice, a touch of sweetness, bags of black fruits and a volatile lift. In short, classic Carignan.
2010 All Saints Estate Marsanne, Victoria
( £14.9, 12.2%, Cockburn & Campbell )A light, refreshing, herbal, honeysuckle-scented Marsanne from All Saints, favouring mealy, citrus fruit over oak influence. The wine is tangy and well-balanced, light enough to enjoy as an aperitif as well as with food. Experience shows that Victorian Marsannes age extremely well.
2010 All Saints Estate Durif, Victoria
( £16.00, 14%, Cockburn & Campbell )Made from the comparatively rare Durif (aka Petite Sirah) grape variety, this carries its 14% alcohol with ease and seems much ligher than that on the palate. The All Saints hallmarks of freshenss and balance are attractively expressed here. There’s plum, some nutmeg spice, a nip of dry tannin and bright, almost Italianate acidity.
2011 CVNE Viña Real Rioja Blanco, Alavesa, Rioja
( £9.99, 13%, Majestic )By the very oaky standards of some white Riojas, this is comparatively light on the barrel influence. It’s a subtle, lightly smoky Viura with a herbal touch and well integrated vanilla oak. The palate is fresh, yet textured, with good length and a savoury finish.
2011 Monemvasia Kidonitsa, Laconia
( £11.50, 13%, Bowes Wine )The Kidonitsa grape may be new to you (you’re not alone there), but don’t worry about that because it’s a great drink. Spritzy and slightly honeyed, with the texture of a Pinot Gris but an extra dimension of flavour. A touch of straw, some ginger spice, a whisper of thyme. You can almost smell the Med.
2011 Three Choirs Regalia, Gloucestershire
( £6, 12%, Asda )The focus is rightly on English sparkling wines, rather than the unfizzy stuff, but this fruit salad blend of five grapes is well worth trying, especially at only £6. It’s got that classic English bouquet of hedgerows and elderflowers, combined with some stony, minerally notes. On the palate it’s crisp and just off dry with crunchy acidity and bright grapefruit and green apple flavours. An excuse to buy British, or rather English.
2011 Château Rouquette sur Mer, Cuvée Arpège, La Clape, Languedoc
( £9.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )If you’re looking for a rare southern French white with lots of personality, this blend of Roussanne and rare Bourboulenc from cosatal La Clape deserves a slot in your wine rack. It’s rich and slightly honeyed with notes of wax and pear and a spicy, textured finish with just a hint of grape skin bitterness. A white wine with grip.
2011 Auzells, Costers del Segre, Catalonia
( £9.95, 13%, The Wine Society )Made from no fewer than eight varieties (with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Muscat among them), this is an intriguing nothern Spanish white that combines perfume with fruit intensity. Grapey, fresh and lime-scented, it’s a focused, floral dry white with a hint of bitterness on the finish.
2011 Herbis Verdejo, Castilla y León, Galicia
( £9.49, 13%, Naked Wines )You get this wine a good deal cheaper if you become an “angel” (don’t ask), but it’s still worth the full bottle price as a rich, minerally, unoaked Verdejo from the cool Rueda region. Gapefruit zest and some stone fruit on the palate with a fresh, tangy finish.
NV Paradiso Prosecco, Veneto
( £11.99, 11.5%, Naked Wines )Not the cheapeast Prosecco on the market by soem distance, but this is worth the loot: light bodied, just off dry, wtih fine bubbles and flavours of boiled sweets, citrus fruit and a hint of peach. Long and refreshing.