Phil Sexton’s Yarra Valley winery is one of the most innovative in the region. It’s got a lot of tourist appeal, but it’s wines are deadly serious, too. This is a typically elegant, refined red, with fine-grained tannins, subtle pepper spice and plush raspberry and blueberry flavours and a minerally, refreshing finish.
2010 Seméli Reserve, Nemea
( £10.95, 14%, The Wine Society )It’s not the easiest grape in the world to love (those tannins can be a little firm, like a Greek version of the Portuguese Baga grape) but Agiorgitiko is that country’s best variety. This is a very fruity example, but it’s still got backbone and acidity behind the chalky red cherry and pomegranate flavours. Make sure you eat this with robust food or cheese.
2013 Le Grand Cros, L'Esprit de Provence, Côtes de Provence, Provence
( £11.49, 13.5%, Noel Young Wines )A pale coloured Provençal blend of Syrah and Grenache that’s just the thing for summer, this has more weight and concentration than many examples of an increasingly popular style. Raspberry fruit, bright acidity and a whiff of Mediterranean herbs all add to the sense of balance here.
2013 Attis, Albariño, RÃas Baixas
( £14.49, 12.5%, www.ralphswinecafe.com )Made in a pithy style, this tasty Albariño comes from the Val do Salnés sub-region. Pear, quince and white pepper notes are deftly combined on the palate, supporting good texture and concentration. Tangy and refreshing on the finish, with notes of lemon peel and oyster shell.
2013 Tabor Winery Vineyards, Adama Gewürztraminer, Galilee
( N/A, 12,3%, Kedern Europe )An off-dry Gewürz from Galilee is not something you come across every day of the week. It’s a spicy, hedonistic wine, with plush, palate-coating flavours of ginger spice and paw paw and enough acidity to balance the residual sugar.
2013 Silvano Follador, Brut Nature, Valdobbiadene Superiore Cartizze
( N/A, 12% )Regarded by many people (including me) as one of the best Prosecco producers, Silvano Follador makes drier and more complex wines than most of his competitors. This has fresh, floral aromas, notes of pearskin, banana and citrus and a long, dry finish. Unusual, but delicious, showing the class of the Cartizze cru.
NV LS Cherlin, Brut, Champagne
( £18, 12.5%, 31 Dover )A broad, fruity, easy drinking fizz that’s great value at under £20, this combines malty, strawberry fruit flavours with a frothy mousse and chalky minerality. It looks the part, too.
2011 Mas Cal Demoura, L'Infidèle, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £19.90, 14%, Cambridge Wine Merchants, I'Anson Wines )A blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault from one of the best terroirs in the Languedoc region of southern France, this is a very stylish wine with a minty edge to it. Smooth, subtle and complex, with refined tannins, sweet blackberry and bramble fruit, subtle oak and refreshing acidity. Balanced, nuanced winemaking.
2013 Richard Kershaw Wines Chardonnay, Elgin
( N/A, 13.5%, Contact the winery for details )Englishman Richard Kershaw has followed up his 2012 release with a wine that’s every bit as good. This is a smoky, minerally, Â citrus-tinged, stylishly constructed Chardonnay that whispers of its cool climate origins in Elgin. Discreet and subtle, it’s a wine with texture, harmony and palate length. One of the Cape’s best examples of the grape.
2011 Paul Bertrand, Crocus, Malbec, Cahors, South West France
( £34.99, 14.5%, The Vineking )What do you get when you cross Paul Hobbs, one of the leading New World wine consultants and a man who makes his own wines in Argetina, with a Frenchman producing wine in Cahors? The answer is something pretty special, a rich, ripe, but well balanced Malbec that sits midway between France and Argentina in style, with some of the perfume and plushness of the former and the structure of the latter. Inky, floral and refined with notes of plum and black cherry and sweet oak.
2013 Collefrisio, Vignaquadra, Abruzzo
( £13.50, 13.5%, Dvine Cellars )An impressive Pecorino from the Frisa hills of the Abruzzo, this shows that you don’t need wine to make a tasty white. Peachy and just off-dry, it’s got bags of flavour, bright acidity and a taut, minerally finish.
2010 Lenné, Pinot Noir, Oregon
( £26.99-£29.99, 14%, Cheers, Hay Wines )This is a serious Pinot Noir verging on a dry red, but still showing enough varietal character to keep Pinotphiles happy. Rich and savoury, but with underlying brightness and finesse, it’s spicy and complex, showing flavours of fennel, red and black fruits and sweet vanilla oak. Promising.