After an impressive tenure at Rustenburg, Adi Badenhorst is doing some really exciting things at his new project in the Swartland. This fruit salad white blend of mostly Chenin Blanc with Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Verdelho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc is a stunner. There’s a sheen of French oak, but what distinguishes the wine is its fruit depth and complexity: perfumed and blossom-scented with notes of honey, ginger spice, fresh apples, peach and a crunchy, refreshing finish. A producer to watch, given his track record.
2010 Planeta Carricante, Sicilia
( £17.99 - £16.50 for the 2009, 13%, Great Western Wine )Is Mount Etna Italy’s greatest secret when it comes to whites? It certainly makes some amazing wines from the Carricante grape: taut, minerally and refreshing. This is stony and crisp with notes of white flowers and lime blossom and a tangy finish. Sicily’s answer to Chablis. Drink now to 3 years.
2008 Ramon Bilbao Single Vineyard Rioja
( £7.49 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic )A high altitude blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha from the cooler Rioja Alta sub-zone, this modern blend typifies what’s happening in Spain’s most famous wine region at the moment. It’s juicy and flavoursome with sweet, spicy raspberry fruit, medium alcohol, understated oak and a tangy, refreshing finish.
2006 Fow Hollow Hunter Valley Single Vineyard Semillon
( £22 down to £16.50 for a case, 11.5%, Marks & Spencer )This looks and tastes suspiciously like Vat 1, Tyrrell’s sublime Hunter Semillon. It’s light and unoaked, but with lovely aged aromas and flavours of toast, cream and citrus fruit. On past performance, these wines age for decades, but you’ll have trouble keeping your hands off the screwcap here. Wonderfully complex. A bargain on the 25% off deal, so hurry.
2010 Terres des Chardons, Marginal, Costières de Nîmes
( £12.95, 13.5%, Vintage Roots )Sourced from one of the most under-rated appellations in the Midi, this old vine, biodynamic blend of mostly Syrah with 20% Grenache would blow most Crozes-Hermitages out of the water. It’s silky and aromatic, with classic Syrah scents of black olives and blackberries, supple tannins and remarkable length. There’s no oak here, so the fruit really sings.
2007 Passopisciaro, IGT Sicilia
( £29.99, 14%, Corney & Barrow )If your impression of Sicily is of a sweltering island making chunky reds, cheap, New World-style whites and Marsala, you haven’t discovered the Nerello Mascalese grape from Mount Etna yet. Andrea Franchetti’s Burgundian-style red, sourced from vines as old as 120 years, is remarkable: perfumed and elegant, with notes of red cherry and wild strawberry, savoury tannins, refreshing acidity and impressive length and complexity.
2009 Domaine Lagneau, Régnié
( £9.95, 13%, Stone, Vine & Sun )These 2009 Beaujolais crus really are delicious, so if you are looking for a gluggable summer red to chill out with, this Régnié is the perfect candidate. It’s wonderfully bright and aromatic, with notes of raspberry and red cherry, good texture, lightweight tannins and old vine concentration, with sappy acidity and a refreshing finish. It should keep for a year or two, too.
2010 Domäne Wachau Terraces Grüner Veltliner, Wachau
( £8.49, down to £6.36 from June 29 to July 19, 12%, Waitrose )You might want to wait until this excellent, entry point Grüner goes on special offer at the end of the month, but it’s a really good wine with which to celebrate the arrival of summer. It’s taut, minerally and complex, with pure fruit flavours, no oak, and lovely aromas of white flowers, white pepepr and wet stones. The kind of thing that makes you want to sing in the (Viennese) woods.
2010 Cerutti Moscato d'Asti "Suri Sandrinet", Cassinasco
( £11.75, 5%, Berry Bros & Rudd )Moscato is one of my favourite summer aperitifs, capable of greatness as well as perfume and zing in the hands of a top producer like Gianmario Cerutti. This one comes from a sunny (“suri” in Italian) vineyard located at 350 metres, combining freshness with fruit concentration. This has 125 grams of residual sugar, but you don’t notice it thanks to the citrus fruit acidity. Grapey, frothy, filligree bubbles with a palate-cleansing finish.
2009 Crasto Douro Red
( £8.49 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic )Make sure you buy the 2009 vintage of this brilliant Douro red, rather than the 2008, because it’s a step up in terms of perfume and elegance. This is a harmonious blend of Touriga Nacional. Tinta Francesa and Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo), showing exotic blackberry and bluberry fruit, a touch of sweet oak, plush tannins and real vibrancy. Significantly, it’s got none of that Douro bake character, just masses of gluggable fruit.
2009 Langhe Nebbiolo Bricco Maiolica
( £12.50 by the case, 13%, Lea & Sandeman )If the price of Barolo and Barbaresco leaves you spluttering into your pasta, some of the regional wines made from the Nebbiolo grape can be good value alternatives, enabling you to enjoy this most brilliant (and temperamental) of Italian varieties without raiding your savings account. This is very elegant and comparatively forward, showing considerable finesse and poise, medium-weight tannins, a core of sweet and savoury tobacco and red cherry fruit, fresh acidity and a fine tapering finish.
2008 Cave de Beblenheim Grafenreben Riesling d'Alsace
( £8.82, 12%, Waitrose )It’s easy to forget about Alsace Riesling in the rush to buy examples of the grape from Germany and Australia, but they can be some of France’s best whites, especially if they are made in a dry style, like this one. The wine is fresh and delicate, with lovely lime-like flavours, some stony minerality, a hint of the complex bitterness that is so typical of the region and a fine, lingering finish.