If I had to choose just one Blanc de Blancs Champagne to lay down on a regular basis, this would be it. It’s hard to believe the wine is 10 years’ old, given its freshness and perky acidity. Floral, understated, citrus and brioche aromas sashay into a pure, focused, beautifully defined palate showing flavours of citrus, fresh bread and lighty grilled nuts. The finish on the wine goes on for a minute. Great now, but tuck some away if you can keep your hands off it.
July Sample Tasting
12 August 20122011 Contesa Pecorino, Colline Pescaresi, Umbria
( £8.95, 13%, The Wine Society )A delicious, great value white from Umbria, with fresh, almost savoury fruit notes, crisp minerality and a hint of grape skin bitterness on the finish. A white wine that works best with food, possibly even with the cheese of the same name.
2011 Château Rouquette sur Mer, Cuvée Arpège, La Clape, Languedoc
( £9.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )If you’re looking for a rare southern French white with lots of personality, this blend of Roussanne and rare Bourboulenc from cosatal La Clape deserves a slot in your wine rack. It’s rich and slightly honeyed with notes of wax and pear and a spicy, textured finish with just a hint of grape skin bitterness. A white wine with grip.
2011 Auzells, Costers del Segre, Catalonia
( £9.95, 13%, The Wine Society )Made from no fewer than eight varieties (with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Muscat among them), this is an intriguing nothern Spanish white that combines perfume with fruit intensity. Grapey, fresh and lime-scented, it’s a focused, floral dry white with a hint of bitterness on the finish.
2010 Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas White Wine, Beiras
( £10.95, 12%, The Wine Society )A taut, minerally, screwcapped white blend from a producer whose white wines age really well and are just as good as his more famous reds. Fresh, unoaked and slightly smoky with hints of jasmine and ginger spice and a long, satisfying finish. Portugal’s answer to Chablis, with a hint of Riesling thrown in, this proves that local grapes like Bical and Cercial are capable of producing thrilling, bottle-matured white wines.
2011 Herbis Verdejo, Castilla y León, Galicia
( £9.49, 13%, Naked Wines )You get this wine a good deal cheaper if you become an “angel” (don’t ask), but it’s still worth the full bottle price as a rich, minerally, unoaked Verdejo from the cool Rueda region. Gapefruit zest and some stone fruit on the palate with a fresh, tangy finish.
NV Paradiso Prosecco, Veneto
( £11.99, 11.5%, Naked Wines )Not the cheapeast Prosecco on the market by soem distance, but this is worth the loot: light bodied, just off dry, wtih fine bubbles and flavours of boiled sweets, citrus fruit and a hint of peach. Long and refreshing.
2009 Assyrtiko de Mylos, Santorini
( £25, 14.5%, Theatre of Wine )There can’t be many more complex Greek whites than this old vine Assyrtiko from the volcanic island of Santorini. Rich and textured, wtih aged flavours of toast and honey underpinned by steely acidity. There’s a lovely undertone of Mediterreanean herbs here, a hint of sweetness and a long, minerally finish. Very complex stuff.
2011 Phaedra Xynomavro Rosé, Macedonia
( £9.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )The best red grapes, Greece’s Xynomavro among them, invariably produce the best rosé wines. Good on Waitrose for listing a Greek example with ambition and personality: raspberry and wild strawberry fruit, a touch of sweetness and a nip of tannin on the finish.