It’s worth paying a little extra to taste a superior Prosecco like this one. Off-dry, fruity, youthful and pure, showing notes of stone fruit, citrus and white pepper, it has good concentration and a refreshing, well balanced finish.
NV Les Pionniers Selected Cuvée for the Co-operative, Champagne
( £19.99, 12%, The Co-operative )A strong candidate for the best value supermarket bubbly under £20, this is a special blend of mostly Pinot Noir with 20% Pinot Meunier and 10% Chardonnay. It’s a malty, comparatively dry style with lots of reserve wine richness, flavours of raspberry and milk chocolate, a hint of toasty autolysis and a creamy, well-balanced mid-palate. Smart fizz at the price.
NV Henriot Rosé, Champagne
( £46, 12%, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols, Oddbins, Planet of the Grapes )A rosé that deserves to be just as famous as Laurent Perrier’s, this is a blend of mostly Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs with a little Pinot Meunier. The high percentage of reserve wines (25%) gives the wine added depth and complexity. It’s a complex, red fruit-dominated rosé with a hint of blackcurrant leaf, a balsamic undertone, fine bubbles and refeshing acidity. A really good food rosé.
2010 Harvey Nichols Sauternes, Sauternes, Bordeaux
( £15 per half, 14%, Harvey Nichols )Any retailer that sources its Sauternes from Château Coutet (in Barsac) is aiming high and this is a delicious sticky from a vintage that is better known for reds than whites in Bordeaux. This is richer and sweeter than Coutet often tends to be, but it’s still a treat, with flavours of pineapple and barley sugar, medium acidity, subtle oak and rich, honeyed mouthfilling complexity.
2011 Cambridge Road Syrah, Martinborough
( POA, 12.5, Les Caves de Pyrene )“Martinborough in a cool year on a razor’s edge,” is how Lance Redgwell describes the growing season that produced this impressive Syrah from the southern end of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s got the classic, cool climate notes of black pepper and smoked meat, combined with notes of incense, iodine and subtle oak. Spicy and intense, yet refreshing at the same time, it’s the kind of wine that makes you wonder why the Kiwis don’t plant more Syrah.
2011 Cambridge Road Dovetail Field Blend, Martinborough
( POA, 13%, Les Caves de Pyrene )There aren’t many wineries in the world that have successfully combined Pinot Noir with Syrah, but this biodynamic blend is so successful that I wish more people would follow suit. Pinot tames the peppery, iodine-like notes of Martinborough Syrah, adding a softer, more “feminine” touch. The oak is very understated, while the flavours of clove spice, red fruits and a hint of forest floor revolve around a core of bright acidity. Unusual, but very tasty indeed.
2011 Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £29.50, 13.5% )Te Koko is made in much smaller quantities than Cloudy Bay’s regular Sauvignon Blanc, and it’s a much more interesting wine, benefiting from wild yeast fermentation in French oak. Some people find the funky flavours a little challenging, but I love them. This is smoky and complex, with yeasty, doughy aromas, pithy grapefruit-like acidity, a touch of wax and gunflint and long, lingering finish. A wine that wouldn’t look out of place in Pessac-Léognan.
2013 Quinta de Azevedo, Vinho Verde
( £7.25, 11%, The Wine Society )The price of this eminently gluggable Vinho Verde has crept up in recent years (although it’s sometimes on a deal at Majestic), but it was almost too cheap before, given its quality. It’s light and refreshing, with appealing spritz, a whiff of the Atlantic and delicious peach, guava and citrus notes. Just as good as many more expensive Spanish Albariños produced on the other side of the border.
2012 Angosto Almendros Sauvignon Blanc/Verdejo, Valencia
( £12.95, 12.5%, Berry Bros & Rudd )A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo from Valencia? Not exactly run of the mill stuff, but this white duo from Spain’s eastern coast is very tasty stuff. It’s ripe and spicy, with sweet vanilla oak, flavours of pear and honeysuckle and a hint of ginger for good measure. Highly unusual, and further confirmation that Spain’s white wines are on a roll.
2012 Mas Amiel, N Vers le Nord, Maury Sec, Languedoc Roussillon
( POA, 14% )I was sent this wine direct from France, so I don’t have a UK stockist for it, but it surely won’t be long before someone imports it, because it’s one of the best red wines I’ve ever had from the Roussillon region. Made from a combination of Grenace and Syrah, grown on three different soil types, it’s a marvel. Deeply coloured, concentrated, yet not over-ripe or pruney in the least (something that’s not true of a lot of dry Maury reds) it’s mineral and tangy, with a chalky undertone and flavours of balckberry, plum and sweet Asian spices. A remarkable red wine.
2012 João Portugal Ramos, F'Oz, Alentejano
( £8.49, 14%, Waitrose )João Portugal (yes, that’s his name) Ramos makes some of the best value reds in Iberia. This southerrn Portuguese blend of Aragonez, Trincadeira and Castelão is well up to his usual high standards, combining flavours of blackberry, bramble and orange zest in a wine that’s fruity, refreshing, yet substantial enough to serve with red meat.
2013 Los Amigos, Rogue Vine, Grand Itata, Itata Valley
( POA, 12.9% )I’m not sure what the varieties are here, but the fact that the wine comes from old bush vines in the Itatata Valley suggests that they are unlikely to be Chardonnay. All I know from Chilean winemaker Leonardo Erazo is that this is a field blend. It’s floral, fresh and comparatively low in alcohol reflecting its cool climate origins with notes of acacia honey, orange zest and white flowers and little or no oak in evidence. Minerally and fresh with considerable, savoury complexity.