The palest of rosés made from the Sauvignon Gris grape in the south-west of France. The wine is delicate and fragrant, with a touch of green pepper and summer fruits and plenty of crunchy, food-friendly acidity.
Wine Type: White
2010 Verget, Terroir de Pouilly, Les Combes Vieilles Vignes, Pouilly-Fuissé, Burgundy
( £20, 13%, Oddbins )Comparatively developed for a 2010, but this still has attractive aromas of white flowers and acacia honey, with fresh acidity and good concentration. I’d just like to see a little more zip in its step.
2011 The Society's Verdicchio Dei Castelli di Jesi, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Marche
( £6.25, 12.5%, The Wine Society )Good value Italian drinking from the Wine Society, made without oak to allow the variety to express itself, this is fresh and zesty with some weight and texture, notes of aniseed and spice and a breezy, zesty finish.
2011 The Society's White Burgundy, Mâcon-Villages, Burgundy
( £7.50, 12.5%, The Wine Society )Hugely quaffable white Burgundy from the southernn end of the region, made without oak but with some lees contact to fatten it out. Peach and pear flavours are underpinned by some carbon dioxide and a lift of acidity.
2009 Château Marsyas, Békaa Valley
( £££, 14.2%, Contact the winery for details )An impressive Lebanese blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, which benefits from the consultancy of Bordeaux’s celebrated Stéphane Derononcourt. The high altitude of the vines (900 metres) is reflected in the freshness of the wine, which has notes of honey and cinnamon, a twist of orange peel and a long, well-balanced aftertaste.
2011 Scott Fiano, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
( £14.99, 13.5%, Oddbins )The tamptation with Fiano is to pick it too ripe and flacid, so it’s a joy to taste this subtle Ausse expression of one of southern Italy’s most promising varieties. This is minerally and fresh, flecked with pearskin and a hint of apple and a long, spicy finish. A winery to watch.
2010 Hatzidakis Santorini Assyrtiko
( £10.99, 13%, Waitrose )Harry Hatzidakis makes some of the best whites on the volcanic holiday island of Santorini from the wonderful Assyrtiko grape. This is typically fresh and tangy, with a salty undertone, stony minerality and bright, lip-smacking acidity. The wine is shwowing really well right now after two years’ bottle age.
2010 Albert Bichot, Domaine Long Depaquit Chablis, Burgundy
( £13, 12.5%, Soho Wine Supply )The wines from Albert Bichot are on a steep upward curve at the moment, nowhere more so than in Chablis. This is a classic, unoaked style with notes of oyster shell, steely acidity and enough creaminess on the tongue to bind the whole thing together. Fresh, zesty and utterly transparent. You can almost see the terroir in your glass.
2011 The Society's Australian Chardonnay, McLaren Vale, South Australia
( £6.50, 12.5%, The Wine Society )It’s a measure of how far Aussie Chardonnay has advanced in recent years, that even a Chardonnay from warmer climate McLaren Vale is light-bodied and unoaked. This is appealingly dry with flavours of stone fruit and a bite of lemon zest-like acidity.
2007 Concha y Toro, Otorio Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Maule Valley
( £6.99, 12%, Tesco, www.tesco.com )It’s comparatively rare to find Sauvignon Blanc made as a sweet wine on its own (as opposed to blended with Semillon), but this value-for-money sticky from Chile suggests that the grape is well suited to these styles. Honey and quince with an undertone of pink grapefruit.
2010 Domaines Brocard Sélection, Chablis 1er Cru, Burgundy
( £14.99, 12.5%, Sainsbury's )One of a series of brilliant Chablis to emerge from this domaine (or domaines) in 2010, this is a textbook example of what Chardonnay can produce in a great year in the Yonne. It’s tangy and fresh with lovely chalky minerality and purity of fruit. Deliciously drinkable.
2011 Elki Pedro Ximenez, Elqui Valley
( £8.50, 13%, www.thedailydrinker.co.uk )If you’re used to PX being a sweet grape from Jerez, this wine may surprise you because it’s dry and refreshing. It’s also from the edge of Chile’s Atacama desert. It’s zesty and crisp with a mealy texture and a slight edge of bitterness, which works well with food.