Fresh, perfumed Torrontés from La Rioja in Argentina showing the classic talcum powder notes fof the variety. The wine is a little oily perhaps, but it’s full of flavour and spice, with a bright lemony finish and a hint of grapeskin.
2009 Trapiche Broquel Bonarda, Mendoza
( £10.99, 14%, Tesco )Bonarda could be one of Argentina’s USPs if only more producers made the wine as well as this rich, savoury, liquorice and blackberry-like red, with its sweet vanilla oak, medium weight tannins and spicy concentration. Serious stuff with an Italianate twist.
2011 Château Clément Perlé, Gaillac, South-West France
( £8.99, 12.5%, Marks & Spencer )It’s great to see a supermarket championing the undervalued wines of south-west France, so a round of applause for Marks & Spencer for listing this unusual blend of three local grape varieties. It’s quite a weighty wine for its 12.5% alcohol, with notes of honey and fresh earth, a soft, yet refreshing palate with a slight spritz and a tangy, refreshing finish. Try it as an aperitif or with fish or poultry.
2010 Beaumont Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc, Bot River
( £16, 13%, The Wine Society )Rightly awarded Five Stars in the recent edition of South Africa’s Platter Guide, this is a sublime Cape Chenin Blanc. It’s made in a Chenin meets Chardonnay style, with vanilla-scented barrel fermentation and some nice texture from the lees. The Chenin part provides fresh acidity, notes of apple and subtle tropical fruit and a fine finish. The wine should develop further over the next two or three years.
2010 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay, Santa Barbara
( £18, 13.5%, Majestic )Jim Clendennen makes some of the subtlest Chardonnays on the West Coast, and this understated effort is typical of his style, favouring subtle oak, fresh acidity and medium body. This is textured, aromatic and fresh, with some honey and cinnamon spice, a touch of oak, creamy lees and a zesty finish. I’d love to see more California Chardonnays like this.
2011 Pieropan, Veneto, Soave
( £11, 12%, Liberty Wines )Pieropan makes some of my favourite Soaves. Its single vineyard wines are sublime, but its larger, entry point blend is pretty good, too. This has a white pepper fragrance, with stony minerality on the palate and a fresh, almost saline finish. Good to see it under screwcap, too.
2009 David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon, Elim
( £14.99 down to £11.24, 13%, Waitrose )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.
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 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.
1977 D'Oliveiras Reserva Terrantez, Madeira
( £55 down to £41.25, 20%, Waitrose )Bottled in 2008 (which means it spent more than 30 years in cask), this is the sort of wine that everyone should drink once in their life. It has the classic green tinge of mature Madeira, as well as the marked acidity of the best examples. Savoury, complex and fine, this has a classic cheesy undertone, with mature, smoky, incense-like aromas and flavours. Yes, it’s expensive, but at 25% off, now is the time to buy it. Or offer it as a Christmas present.