Aldi The Exquisite Collection Marsanne, IGP Pays d’Oc, France 2014
(£5.99, aldi.co.uk)
Made for Aldi by prolific Languedoc producer Jean Claude Mas, this is a fantastic dry white for the money, offering a pretty blossom-like nose and fleshy peach-and-pear palate for chicken and general afternoon garden drinking.
Tesco Finest Vinho Verde, Portugal 2014
(£5.99, tesco.com)
Clocking in at a mere 11.5% alcohol, but not stinting on zippy mandarin citrus and tropical fruit flavour, Tesco’s own-label take on the revived northern Portuguese classic is dry, racy and full of new vintage charm. Just the thing to take on seafood, bacalão or citrusy salads.
Pierre-Jean Sauvion Chenin Blanc, Vin de France 2014
(£8.99, or £5.99 if you buy two bottles, majestic.co.uk)
Light in alcohol, easygoing in texture and just the slightest bit sweet, this unassuming Loire white, with its flavours of Cox’s apple and its sour Haribo tang, would go well with mild curries or seafood and fish cooked with a little spice.
Fresquito Vino Nuevo de Tinaja, Montilla-Moriles, Spain 2014
(£9, marksandspencer.com)
From a region better known for its underrated sherry-like fortified wines, this unusual clay-pot matured dry white has some of the nutty savoury qualities of dry fino sherry, but with the herby freshness of a conventional dry white.
Domaine Lombard Viognier, Vin de Pays de la Drôme, France 2014
(£10.95, yapp.co.uk)
Brilliant viognier from the grape variety’s home in the northern Rhône valley, but from a lesser-known vin de pays that helps keep the price down. Shimmering with apricot and honeysuckle, it is full-flavoured without being cumbersome.
Taste the Difference Pouilly Fumé, France 2014
(£12, sainsbury.co.uk)
Consistently one of the best wines in the Sainsbury’s range and on excellent form again in this vintage, André Figeat’s Pouilly Fumé is a textbook Loire sauvignon blanc, bringing that smoky-mineral kick to the bright gooseberry and elderflower.
Chapel Down Bacchus, England 2014
(£12.99, waitrose.com)
In a fine year such as 2014, when the sun brings fruit flavour to go with the naturally vigorous acidity, English dry whites can be utterly delightful, this bacchus having the pungent gooseberry and hedgerow flower punch of good sauvignon blanc.
Dönnhoff Riesling QbA, Nahe, Germany 2013
(from £16.50, bbr.com)
From one of Germany’s most consistent riesling producers in the Nahe valley, Dönnhoff’s delicate off-dry white is a model of graceful fine-line acidity, salty seasoning and teasing citrus and orchard fruit for light salads. Look out for the same producer’s Norheimer Kirschheck Spätlese.
BEST BUY
Gaia Wild Ferment Assyrtiko 2014
(£16.99, strictlywine.co.uk)
Greek wine is under-represented in the UK. Assyrtiko, grown on the volcanic soils of Santorini, is a perfect match of grape variety and site, leading here to a simply exhilarating super-dry white that has the mineral qualities of good chablis combined with a fish-friendly lemon-skin zip.
Petra Unger Grüner Veltliner Oberfeld Alte Reben, Kremstal, Austria 2013
(£22, waitrose.com)
Intensely concentrated in its spicy flavours – there’s a shake of the classic grüner white pepper and a touch of celery salt to go with the ripe stone fruit and squeeze of citrus – this mid-weight Austrian white is a fluent, rippling joy to drink.
