Morrisons Signature Grüner Veltliner, Austria 2013
(£6.99, Morrisons)
A little green herb, and lots of zingy apple and lime, this is a superb value take on Austria’s signature white grape from the reliable Markus Huber, who also makes the rather good Taste the Difference version from the same vintage on offer at Sainsbury’s (£7.50).
The Co-operative Truly Irresistible Leyda Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 2013
(£6.99, The Co-operative)
The Pacific breeze-cooled Leyda Valley has become Chile’s answer to Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé, but does so at somewhat more attractive prices than those Loire regions, and with a style all its own. For that seafood starter or aperitif, this is cool, crisp, verdant and just brilliant value.
Tesco Finest Grechetto, Umbria, Italy 2013
(£6.99, Tesco)
Excellent value for an unobtrusive but gastronomically versatile Italian dry white from the lesser-spotted grechetto grape variety that whispers its lemon zest and almonds rather than screaming them, and with its easy-drinking feel makes for a great standby bottle for unexpected guests.
Las Colinas del Ebro Garnacha Blanca, Terra Alta, Spain 2013
(£8.25, Oddbins)
A subtle Catalan white for the fish course or lighter pork and chicken dishes that is gentle in aroma (white fruits and flowers) but is wonderfully textured and mineral in the mouth: it’s rare to find this sort of graceful, gastronomic, complex dry white for this sort of price (the same producer’s succulent red, also £8.25 at Oddbins, is pretty good, too).
Paul Mas Marsanne, France 2013
(£7.99, The Co-operative)
And for his next trick… the prolific Jean-Claude Mas, the man behind numerous superior budget southern French reds and whites takes the Rhone’s marsanne grape to produce a mid-weight, subtly honeyed, stone-fruited dry white with a beguiling softness and touches of blossom.
Iona Sauvignon Blanc, Elgin, South Africa 2013
(£9.99, dbmwines.co.uk; henningswine.co.uk)
South African sauvignon blanc just gets better and better, and Andrew Gunn’s pin-sharp Iona exemplifies the country’s stylistic stance between bold Kiwi and refined Loire in his cool-climate vineyards in Elgin, with the elderflower and grassiness presented with real verve and nerve.
Geržinic Istrian Malvasia, Croatia 2013
(£10, Marks & Spencer)
Croatia’s Istrian peninsula has an Italianate influence, and this pristine, citrus-zesty, herby version of the local speciality grape malvasia (or malvazija) wouldn’t be out of place on the other side of the Adriatic: superb for seafood, and a fine, adventurous alternative to Kiwi sauvignon blanc.
Nunzio Ghiraldi ‘Il Gruccione’, Lugana, Italy 2013
(£10.99, Adnams)
Made from the lugana grape around Lake Garda, this north Italian white is utterly charming in its combination of floral, soft orchard fruit and lemon-and-lime flavours, its seasoning of dill-like herb and its sparky finish. A graceful companion to white fish or trout.
Château Jolys Cuvée Jean, Jurançon, France 2011
(£11.99, 50cl, Waitrose)
Blistering, tangy acidity provides the backbone for this lusciously sweet Pyrenean white, the late-harvested local petit manseng grape bringing honey, shimmering exotic fruit and a crisp, clean finish that keeps the mouth alert and makes a perfect partner for Stilton.
Tornai Furmint F Nagy-Somlói, Hungary 2013
(£11.50, Vinoteca)
One of the key ingredients in the barley sugar and marmalade-flavoured sweet wines of Hungary’s Tokaj region, the Hungarian variety furmint also makes some distinctively rich and tangy dry whites, in this case full of spicy golden apple and peach, and capable of dealing with food both spicy and rich.
Paul Cluver Chardonnay, Elgin, South Africa 2013
(£13.99, Tesco)
Very impressive, ultra-stylish chardonnay from Paul Cluver, another fine producer in South Africa’s cooler Elgin region, this is chiseled and mineral with savoury oatmeal and crystal clear tropical fruit, adding up to a very worthy alternative to pricier white burgundy.
Hay Shed Hill Chardonnay, Western Australia 2013
(£13.95, thewinesociety.com)
A great find by The Wine Society, this is high-end chardonnay at a very competitive price, very much in keeping with the current Australian fashion. It’s a wonderful combination of fresh apple fruit and the savoury flavours of oak: crisp, clean, elegant but with enough depth for the main Christmas meal.
Zarate Albariño Rías Baixas, Spain 2013
(from £13.99, nywines.co.uk; harveynichols.com)
Supermarket own-label albariños such as Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference have replaced sauvignon blanc as my mid-week pick-me-up dry white; at Christmas I’d be happy to spend a few quid more for the real thing. Zarate’s precision-tooled example offers an extra dimension of seafood-ready salty freshness, and fleshy apricot.
Stepp Riesling *S* Kallstadter Saumagen, Pfalz, Germany 2013
(£15, Marks & Spencer)
Former Marks & Spencer employee Gerd Stepp continues to impress with his winemaking venture back home in Germany’s Pfalz region, and this single-vineyard dry riesling is typical of his house style: with arresting purity and precision, it crackles with energy, minerals and tangy lime fruit.
Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu, Loire, France 2006
(£16.99, Marks & Spencer)
Typically gorgeous sweet chenin blanc from Claude Papin that comes across like liquid tarte tatin or a very refined toffee apple, with the snap and bite of fresh green apples and notes of vanilla and frangipan. To be sipped slowly in lighter lieu of Calvados with a sharp, strong Cheddar.
Rolly Gassmann Riesling, Alsace 2012
(£17.99, Waitrose)
At some point over the Christmas period I’ll be calling on the Asian spice cupboard to jazz up the leftovers, and this scintillating, floral, peach-and-lime-scented riesling from one of the great names of modern Alsace, with its cushion of sugar and spine of steely acidity, will elevate that meal by several notches.
Bodegas Gorka Izagirre Late Harvest Arima, Bizkaiko Txakolina, Spain 2010
(£17.75, 50cl, nywines.co.uk; hangingditch.com)
This lusciously sweet Basque curiosity was one of my wines of the year, building layers of cyrstalised mandarin and orange blossom honey on the same spine of salty-mineral acidity that you find in the region’s spritzy, bone-dry whites. One for the cheese board or any fruit desserts.
Domaine Merlin François Condrieu Les Terroirs, France 2012
(£33.50, yapp.co.uk)
The Condrieu appellation in the northern Rhône valley is the home of the opulently aromatic viognier grape variety, which can run to fat in less skilled hands. Not here: the delicious white peach and apricot fruit is offset by graceful, soft acidity and a lift of white flowers to make a very smart golden centrepiece for the Christmas table.
Didier & Pascal Picq Chablis Vosgros 1er Cru, France 2012
(£22, bbr.com)
Berry Bros & Rudd has a range of brilliant 2012 Chablis put together by the UK’s foremost burgundy expert Jasper Morris MW, but I’ve picked the Picq as my Christmas first-course treat for its bang-for-buck and its textbook presentation of the classic Chablis tension – minerals, green apple bite and burgeoning crème fraîche character.
Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Vieilles Vignes, France 2011
(£35.25, corneyandbarrow.com)
More famous for its intense, spicy reds, Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s oak-aged dry whites are perhaps more of an acquired taste, but when they’re good, as with Tardieu-Laurent’s, they offer a quite gorgeous mix of rich creamy orchard fruit and sweet nutty oak leavened by blossom and bright green apple acidity that would stand up very well to the full-on assault of Christmas dinner.
