A consistent favourite of mine at Tesco for more than a decade, the latest vintage of this Western Australian Riesling is right up to scratch. Made at Howard Park, it’s a bright, tangy, lime and citrus peel Riesling with a waft of jasmine, plenty of mouth-watering acidity and an appealing bitter twist.
Score Range: 90-94
2023 Domaine Huchet Muscadet Chemin des Prières, Loire Valley
( £12.50, 12%, The Wine Society )Muscadet can be one of France’s most underrated whites. This delightful, lees-aged Melon de Bourgogne from Jérémie Huchet hails from cooler, granite-rich soils in the commune of Château-Thébaud. Textured, racy, rich, yet bone-dry, it has notes of citrus, green apple and sea breeze and an intensely stony finish balanced by delightful mid-palate weight.
2024 Diemersdal Grüner Veltliner, Durbanville, Western Cape
( £11.50, 13.5%, Majestic )Partly inspired by the subject of my newsletter, this is an example of a producer taking a punt on a lesser known grape, in this case Austria’s Grüner Vetliner in the Cape. Thys Louw produces this tangy, stony, white pepper-scented white in cool climate Durbanville, close to the Atlantic Ocean. Lime and subtle stone fruit flavours combine appealingly on the palate.
2023 Zuccardi Q Chardonnay, Uco Valley, Mendoza
( £16.50, 13.5%, Tesco )Not many people realise it, but the cooler, high-altitude areas of Argentina’s Uco Valley are producing some delicious white wines at the moment, most notably from Chardonnay. This deftly wooded example from Sebastián Zuccardi, made with grapes from El Peral and Gualtallary, is wonderfully focused, direct and refreshing, with layers of lemongrass, citrus peel, fennel and oyster shell, mouth-watering acidity and a stony, tapering finish.
2024 La Guardiense Falanghina del Sannio, Campania
( £10.50, 13.5%, Majestic )Working under the guidance of top consultant Ricardo Cotarella, the La Guardiense co-operative is making some delicious, value-for-money examples of Campania’s native Falanghina grape. Aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks to add weight and texture, this is a wonderful, highly aromatic dry white with aromas of orange blossom and Angelica root and a brisk, lively, focused palate of lime, citrus and fennel.
2022 Terrazas de los Andes Organic Malbec, Mendoza
( £16.50 or 25% off if you buy six, 14%, Sainsbury's )There are cheaper Argentinian Malbecs on the market, but this one only uses grapes from the high-altitude Uco Valley regions of Eugenio Bustos, Los Chacayes and Paraje Altamira, so it’s especially vibrant and refreshing, even in a hot vintage like 2022. Perfumed and engaging, it has textbook top notes of violet, liquorice and Andean wild herbs, glossy tannins, tangy minerality and juicy plum and blackberry fruit embellished by subtle, toasty oak.
2022 Carinus Family Vineyards Syrah, Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch
( £14.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )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.
2024 Arbousset Tavel Rosé, Rhône Valley
( £13, 13.5%, Tesco )Tavel tends to make rosés that appeal to red rather than white wine lovers. As such, they are richer, denser and fuller-bodied than the much paler Côtes de Provence style. This wine from Domaine d’Arbousset is a case in point, a serious, savoury, richly coloured cuvée of mostly Grenache with lesser amounts of Cinsault, Carignan and Syrah. Wild strawberry, hibiscus and rooibos tea flavours are framed by subtle tannins and racy acidity.
2023 Domaine Trouillet les Reines de la Jacarde Blanc, Beaujolais
( £15, 13%, Majestic )Beaujolais is so famous as a red wine region that people forget that it also produces a small amount of white wine made from Chardonnay. Indeed, some of its vineyards neighbour the Mâconnais, the southern outpost of Burgundy to the north. This is a delicious, textured white from William Trouillet, whose family domaine also make grander and more expensive Pouilly-Fuissé for Majestic. Perfumed, fresh and very lightly wooded, it has notes of cream, citrus and wet stones and a hint of brioche.
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.
2022 Peter Lehmann Portrait Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley
( £15, 14%, Tesco )Australia’s Barossa Valley is generally regarded as Shiraz country, but can also produce very smart reds from Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. This textured, well-structured red from winemaker Brett Schulz is a case in point. Plush, glossy and slightly minty, with understated French and Aussie oak, it has ample concentration, supple tannins, cassis and blackberry fruit and undertones of liquorice and dried herbs.