If you’re going to use one winery as your source of house Albariño, Pazo de Señorans is a great choice. This is weighty and concentrated by local standards, showing aromas of lime blossom and fresh straw, crisp, apple and citrus fruit and an undertone of stony minerality. Long and very stylish.
The Wine Society (Various Tastings)
25 July 20132009 The Liberator (This Bird Has Flown), Swartland
( £11.95, 14.5%, The Wine Society )This Cape blend of Chenin, Viognier, Chardonnay and Clairetter Blanche won’t be to everyone’s taste – it’s got some age to it and a developed, Sherry-like not – but I salute its ambiiton and left field flavours. Rich and honeyed, with some vanilla and nutmeg spice, fresh acidity and bags of concentration. Appealingly funky.
2012 Chartreuse de Mourgères Le Pèlerin Blanc, Pays de Caux
( £6.25, 12.5%, The Wine Society )The grapes for this blend of Sauvignon, Vermentino and a hint of grapey Muscat come from land formerly owned by a Carthusian monastery in the Languedoc. It’s certainly an unusual wine with notes of wild herbs and flowers and a slight sweetness that reminds you of acacia honey. The Muscat adds an oily richness to the crisp frame.
2012 Esprit de Labaside, Le Perlé, Gaillac
( £5.95, 12%, The Wine Society )Made by the local Gaillac co-op, this all Mauzac white is slightly sparkling – hence the perlé name. It’s a fresh, medium bodied white that’s a little like a Spanish Albariñon in flavour and texture. Tangy and fresh with flavours of pear and apple and a hint of tangerine. Very quaffable.
2011 The Curator, The Swartland
( £6.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )By the hot house standards of the Swartland, this is a light and comparatively elegant red blend of mostly Shiraz with some Mourvèdre, Cinsaut and Viognier. It’s a scented, unoaked style with some pepper spice, raspberry and red cherry fruit and refreshing acidity.
2010 Spice Route Chakalaka, The Swartland
( £12.95, 14.5%, The Wine Society )This isn’t the most expensive brands in the full-flavoured Spice Route range, but it’s often one of my favourite reds from this innovative winery. It’s an appealing combo of no fewer than six grapes, with lots of sweet vanilla oak, spicy clove and nutmeg and a mixture of bramble, red berry and blackberry fruit intensity. Needs a barbecue to show at its best.
2011 Guímaro Mencia, Ribeira Sacra
( £10.95, 14.5%, The Wine Society )Made entirely from the Mencia grape (think Tempranaillo crossed with Cabernet France in style) this is a perfumed, refreshing red that carries its 14.5% alcohol without any apparent struggle. Pepper spicy and aromatic, with notes of wild thyme and lavender, this unoaked, faintly chewy red is a delight. Great with roast lamb.
2012 Melis Iocalia Vermentino di Sardegna, Sardegna
( £8.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )A crisp, fruity, aromatic quaffer from Sardinia, with appelaing acidity, some boiled sweets on the nose and flavours of fennel, stone fruit and citrus. Very summery.
2012 Principe Pallavicini Poggio Verde Frascati Superiore Secco, Rome
( £8.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Proper, bone-dry Frascati with good concentration and plenty of herbal, Mediterranean flavours. Saline and slightly bitter (no bad thing here, if you’re drinking the wine with food), this is a tangy, palate-cleansing white with a nutty finish.
2009 Villa di Vetrice Chianti Rufina Riserva, Tuscany
( £9.95, 13%, The Wine Society )Chaintis from Rufina often have a slightly savoury, even rustic note to them, which distinguishes them from Classico styles. This great value example certainly has a little of that, but it’s offset by sweet red fruits. This is a fairly traditional style, combining Sangiovese with Canaiolo, with fairly sturdy tannins and a lift of volatile acidity. A pasta-bashing red.
2012 The Society's Vinho Verde, Minho
( £5.95, 11.5%, The Wine Society )Summer may be over (at least in northern Europe), but this is still a delicously refreshing, low-alcohol Portuguese white that’s just the thing for sunny afternoons. It’s commendably cheap, too. Tangy, spritzy and zingy, it’s floral and dry with palate-tickling acidity and a citrus fruit bite.
NV Albinea Canali Lambrusco Secco, Ottocentonero, Lambrusco dell'Emilia, Emilia-Romagna
( £7.95, 11.5%, The Wine Society )Visitors to Bologna will be familiar with drier styles of the local frothy red, Lambrusco. Elsewhere, it tends to be regarded as sweet and a bit too commercial, which is a shame, as wines like this one deserve a wider audience. Juicy, dry and very drinkable, even with food, this has bright plum and black cherry fruit, a nip of tannin and a mouthful of bubbles.