Norrel Robertson MW, known as the Escocés Volante (Flying Scotsman), is making some of the most distinctive wines in northern Spain right now. Manda Huevos – Spanish slang for “no way!” – is a remarkable, barrel-fermented cuvée of Macabeo and 5% Garnacha Blanca from an 85-year-old vineyard at 850 metres in Calatayud. Creamy, spicy and stylishly wooded, it has notes of beeswax and citrus zest, stony intensity and a hint of vanilla spice.
Wine Type: White
2023 Lyrarakis Orange Wine, Crete
( £11.99, 13%, Majestic )A wine to sip while you’re reading Peter Pharos’ article about Crete last week, this is my kind of orange wine. Made from a judicious cuvée of Assyrtiko and Vidiano, it has the freshness of its 500-metre site in Heraklion, subtle tangerine, quince and lemon zest flavours, a hint of quinine bitterness and a tapering finish. Appealingly versatile with food.
2021 Invincible Número Dois, Douro
( From £18.74, 12.5%, Dionysus Wines, Givino, Heritage Cellars, Majestic, Philglass & Swiggot )The Douro Valley is mostly red wine (and Port) territory, but its whites can be brilliant too, as long as the site is cooler and at altitude. That’s the case with Rita Marques’ brilliant assemblage of local varieties, dominated by Rabigato, Arinto and Códega de Larinho. Aromas of saffron, fennel and wet stones segue into a palate that has lovely granitic minerality, layers of citrus zest, lime and wild thyme and a mouth-watering finish.
2020 Samartzis Dío Potámia Kontoura Barrique, Thiva
( £16.50, 12.5%, Tanners )A brilliant new find by one of the the UK’s best wine merchants, this is a pure Kontoura from vines in the Valley of the Muses north-west of Athens, made by ex-pharmacist Panos Samartzis. Surprisingly rich and textured for a wine with just 12.5% alcohol, it has aromas of beeswax and toast, lots of racy acidity, lemongrass and yellow apple flavours and a stony finish. The oak is especially well integrated. Outstanding value for money.
2023 M&S Expressions Marsanne, Voor Paardeberg
( £9, 13.5%, Marks & Spencer, Ocado )Outside the northern Rhône, Marsanne is rarely bottled as a stand alone grape. But it’s found an exciting new home in the Voor Paardeberg region of the Western Cape. This unwooded, lees-aged example is made by the talented Trizanne Barnard. Aromas of honeysuckle and anise guide you into palate of pear, peach and lemon zest complemented by plenty of zip and acidity.
2023 Eidosela Albariño, Rías Baixas
( £12.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )I sampled this good value Albariño in a large line-up at the Consejo Regulador in Pontevedra this week and it really stood out. Sourced from the warmer Condado do Tea region – but tasting more like a white from the cooler, more Atlantic Salnés Valley – it’s crisp, tangy and focused, with jasmine, beeswax and wet stone aromas, plenty of mouth-watering acidity and flavours of passion fruit and lime.
2022 Tesco Finest Steep Slopes Mosel Riesling, Mosel Valley
( £7.25, 11%, Tesco )On hot summer days – we’re due a run of them soon, surely – there’s almost nothing I enjoy more than a glass of chilled Mosel Riesling. This own-label bottling from Peter Mertes is something of a bargain: crisp, perfumed and refreshing with a hint of sweetness, flavours of lime, peach and fresh grapes and a stony, mouth-watering finish. Appealingly light-bodied.
2022 Taste the Difference Grüner Veltliner, Traisental
( £11, 12.5%, Sainsbury's )It always strikes me as something of a coup by Sainsbury’s to get top Austrian winemaker Marks Huber to produce their own-label Grüner Veltliner. Gloriously pure and perfumed, this has classic white pepper and bay leaf aromas, a palate of pear, peach and green apple, some extra texture from three months on lees in tank and plenty of racy, crunchy acidity. A delicious summer white.
2022 Laurent Miquel Lieu-Dit La Vérité Viognier, Pays d'Oc
( £19.99, 14.5%, Waitrose Cellar )I have to admit that I often find Viognier a one glass wine, but Laurent Miquel’s La Vérité from a special parcel on one of his Languedoc estates is the kind of thing I could drink by the case. Intense, textured, creamy, yet refreshing, it has aromas of honeysuckle and vanilla, a toasty top note from ageing in new French barrels, layers of peach, citrus zest and apricot and enough acidity to keep the palate barrelling along.
2022 Taste the Difference Côtes du Rhône White, Rhône Valley
( £9, 12.5%, Sainbury's )Who needs to age a white wine in oak when it has as much flavour as this southern Rhône blend of Grenache Blanc, 20% Viognier, 12% Roussanne and 10% Marsanne? Honeysuckle, jasmine and ginger aromas segue into a palate that’s light, zesty and refreshing, with peach, lemongrass and wild mountain herb flavours and a bright, appealingly tangy finish.
2023 Tenute Pieralisi Monte Schiavo, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico
( £8.99, 11.5% )Part of a really good new range of Italian whites from Majestic – look out for other arrivals over the next month – this is a bright, tangy, unwooded Verdicchio from one of the highest vineyards in the Marche region. As crisp and a freshly ironed white shirt, it has fennel and chamomile aromas, flavours of citrus and quinine, racy acidity and a waft of mountain herbs. Long and refreshing.
2021 Gallina de Piel Manar dos Seixas, Ribeiro
( £23.98, 13%, Shelved Wine, The Fine Wine Company )David Seijas was the sommelier at El Bulli, considered the best restaurant in the world at the time, for 11 years, but is now making an excellent range of Spanish wines under his Gallina de Piel label. This is brilliant cuvée of mostly Treixadura with lesser amounts of Godello, Albariño and Loureira, sourced from the granite soils of the Ribeiro region. Intense, stony and bone dry, it has flavours of lemongrass and pink grapefruit, plenty of grip and intensity and top notes of green tea, chamomile and juniper. Utterly delicious.