International varieties are overshadowed in Spain by local grapes, but Sauvignon seems to have found an ideal spot in Rueda, producing wines that are delicious as well as distinctive. This is a total bargain if you buy two bottles, and I promise you wont’t regret having a spare in the fridge. It’s got flavours of pink grapefruit and passion fruit, a hint of gunflint on the nose and, pithy, refreshing acidity. Not many places could better this at £6.49 for a tasty Sauvignon Blanc.
Wine Type: White
2011 Herdade do Esporão, Verdelho, Vinho Regional Alentejano
( £8.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )White wines from the baking plains of southern Portugal are often rather flabby and dull, but this perky number from one of the region’s best producers is anything but, showing tangy acidity, bright, citrus peel flavours and a minerality that wouldn’t look out of place in Chablis. Bring on the seafood.
2011 The Co-operative Chablis, Chablis, Burgundy
( £9.99, 12.5%, The Co-operative )2011 was a slightly tricky vintage in Chablis, so hats off to the Co-op for finding a wine that delivers under £10. It’s a fairly soft, forward style, but there’s enough steeliness to stop it cloying. It’s fresh and appealing with no oak and supple pear and spice on the palate.
2011 La Casa de Sitios de Bodega, Sauvignon Blanc, Rueda
( £6.49, 13%, The Co-operative )Spain is often overlooked when people are looking for new sources of Sauvignon Blanc, but the cool (comparatively speakig) region of Rueda has been making some very drinkable examples since the 1980s. This good value quaffer is a case in point: stony and fresh with notes of beeswax, honey and gooseberry.
2012 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £12.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )The guys behind this outstanding Marlborough operation stopped emphasising their historic link with Cloudy Bay some time ago, and you can see why. These days Dog Point is cheaper and invariably better than the wine that inspired it. Where many local Sauvignons are one dimensional, this one has layers and nuances, with notes of struck match and minerals, some pink grapefruit and beautiful line and length.
2010 Greywacke Chardonnay, Marlborough
( £25.99, 14.5%, Swig )When he was at Cloudy Bay (and that was for over 20 years) Kevin Judd was better known for his Sauvignon Blancs thatn his Chardonnays, but the latter were sometimes even more exciting. This superb effort from the top notch 2010 vintages deserves a place among the country’s best interpretations of the grape. It’s smoky and toasty, with flavours of citrus and hazelnuts and a long, minerally finish that wouldn’t look out of place in Puligny-Montrachet.
2012 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £14.95, 13%, The Wine Society )The fourth release from Kevin Judd’s Marlborough winery is an example of what great winemakers can achieve in tricky vintages. It’s a more restrained style than in the past, owing to a cooler season, but it’s still a lovely wine: fresh, focused and long with attractive gooseberry, pear and orange peel complexity.
2012 Stoneburn Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £7.25, 13%, The Wine Society )This is a little sweet and commercial, but it’s a lot less so than many Kiwi Sauvignons at the price. It’s bright and well crafted with classic goosberry fool and tropical fruit exuberance and mouthwatering acidity.
2011 Bird on Wire Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
( £35-£38, 13%, Naked Wines )The whites were much more impressive than the red from this Yarra Valley estate in 2011. This cool climate Aussie Chardonnay is deliberately made in a fairly wild, funky style and it works: savoury and complex, with subtle oak and notes of oatmeal, honey and lemon zest. Lovely.
2011 Bird on a Wire Marsanne, Yarra Valley, Victoria
( £32, 14%, Naked Wines )Caroline Mooney’s wines are some of the most exciting things I’ve tasted from Australia in the last three years. This barrel-fermented Marsanne shows the variety’s classic honeysuckle and aniseed notes, well integrated with oak and sustained by bright acidity. Honey and some white flowers add extra complexity and texture.
2010 Hill-Smith Estate Chardonnay, Eden Valley, South Australia
( £11.99, 13.5%, Negociants )This doesn’t have a stockist in the UK yet, but it surely won’t be long before it does. It’s more immediate than the subtler FDW Chardonnay from the same Yalumba stable, but it’s still a very tasty modern Chardonnay with notes of citrus and honeydew melon, subtle oak and a bright, lemony finish.
2012 Pewsey Vale Riesling, Eden Valley, South Australia
( £11.99, 12.5%, Auswinesonline.co.uk, Noel Young Wines, Slurp, Winedirect )An Eden Valley Riesling that rarely disappoints, this is as reliable as ever, a dry, aromatic, minerally white with notes of apple and pear and an underlying seam of fresh limes. The wine will get toastier with age, if you can keep your hands off it.