Why don’t the South Africans plant more Semillon in the Cape, given how successful the variety seems to be there. This one from the cool, ocean-influenced area of Elim is toasty, herbal and very refined, with lovely lime and citrus blossom flavours and the potential to age, Hunter Valley-style, in bottle.
Score Range: 91-95
NV Graham Beck Chardonnay/Pinot Noir Brut, Western Cape
( £13.99 down to £10.24, 12%, Waitrose )Pieter Ferreira is way ahead of anyone else making sparkling wine in the Cape at the moment, as demonstrated by this partially-barrel fermented fizz. It’s sappy and fresh, but with attractively yeasty autolysis notes, very fine bubbles and a tapering finish. A New World fizz that’s better than a lot of cheap Champagnes.
NV Bertrand de Bessac, Cuvée du Marquis Brut, Champagne
( £29.99 down to £24.49, 12%, Waitrose )A blend of 60% Pinot Noir from the Aube and 40% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, this has a hefty proportion of toasty reserve wine to add to the ripe fruit from the 2009 vintage. The result is a delicious fizz with real complexity, power and depth as well as the backbone to age.
2010 Domaine des Forges, Côteaux du Layon, Loire Valley
( £7.99 down to £5.99, 11.5%, Waitrose )You only get a half bottle of this for your money, but I wouldn’t complain. When they are this good, Loire sweet wines wipe the winery floor with similarly priced stickies from Sauternes. There’s some old oak used to age the wine, but it’s just there as a background note, supporting the stylish, minerally, honey and ripe pear flavours. This is liquid tarte tatin, a delicious Coteaux du Layon from the Premier Cru slopes of Chaume.
2010 Domaine du Grapillon d'Or, Gigondas, Rhône Valley
( £18.99 down to £14.24, 14.5%, Waitrose )This was one of the very best wines at the Waitrose tasting, a very smart southern Rhône red based on Grenache with 20% Syrah for added backbone. It’s a ripe wine, with 14.5% alcohol, but it’s subtle and elegant, too, reflecting the balance of the 2010 vintage. Supple and sweet, with notes of wild herbs, red fruits, medium tannins and a nuanced, finely crafted finish. This outclasses a lot of Châteauneuf-du-Papes.
2010 Rustenberg Straw Wine, Coastal Region
( 13.49, 10.5%, Waitrose )Made from grapes dried on straw mats to concentrate their sugars and flavours, this is a remarkable, barrel-aged blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Crouchen, with rich, mouthcoating flavours of apricot syrup, honey, vanilla pod and citrus fruit. There’s a slight volatile lift that adds to the complexity of the wine here.
2008 Domaine Courbis Champelrose, Cornas, Rhône Valley
( £19.99 down to £14.99, 13%, Waitrose )Cornas can make some of the chunkiest wines in the northern Rhône, but this is much more refined than many examples. It’s got lovely lifted crackedf pepper and clove spice on the nose, with subtle oak, hints of grilled meat and red fruits and a fine, refreshing finish. The wine will comfortably age for another eight years or more.
NV Warre's Bottle-Aged Late-Bottled Port, Port
( £19.99 down to £14.99, 20%, Waitrose )LBV Port covers a variety of styles and levels of seriousness, but this is right up there with the very best examples. It was bottled in 2005 and matured for a further four years before release and the result is a wine of great balance and spicy concentration. Smoky, peppery and fine with no obvious rough edges of spirit, just finesse, depth and complexity.
2010 Colomé Malbec, Calchaquí Valley, Salta
( £15.99 down to £11.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )Made at one of the highest, most beautiful and remote estates in northern Argentina, this is a very subtle Malbec-based red, which combines the country’s signature grape with 15% Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. It’s a bright, minerally style, despite the pronounced alcohol, with floral, violet-like aromas, subtle, spicy oak and silky tannins. One of Argentina’s most distinctive red blends.
2011 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block, Western Cape
( £19.99 down to £14.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )Marc Kent’s cult red blend is always in demand, so you might need to hurry to buy this. It’s as good as ever: plush, sumptuous and aromatic, with sweet, ripe, tarry flavours of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsaut and Viognier, good acidity and lots of smoky, palate-warming fruit.
2011 Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, Les Dix Arpents, Montlouis, Loire
( £15.99 down to £11.99, 13%, Waitrose )The 2011 vintage was a tricky one in the Loire, but this wine is gloriously unaffected. It’s a pure, dry, oak-matured Chenin Blanc which combines notes of apples, honey and pears with some sweet vanilla and assertive, mouthwatering acidity. A delicious wine from the talented Jacky Blot.
2010 BLANKbottle The White Black, Western Cape
( £18.50, 13.5%, Stone, Vine & Sun )Yet another name to add to the list of stunning white blends that are emerging from South Africa, Pieter Walser’s delicious cuvée of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Clairette and a splash of Chardonnay tastes as good as it looks. Honey, apple and stone fruit flavours are nicely framed by gentle vanilla oak, with richness, spice and minerality all adding to the overall complexity of the wine. Long and well balanced, this is a remarkable buy under £20.