This selection of dry white wines has been made with entertaining others or treating yourself in mind. Appellations with something to prove can often offer better value than the established names. Many 2004 Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumés for instance were rather dilute, whereas Cheverny has to sell on quality alone – and the new Bourgogne Vézelay appellation can offer more classic Chablis character than many a Chablis made nearby. Southern Burgundy (Mâcon, Pouilly-Fuissé, St Véran etc) continues to offer great value but I have also unearthed some first-rate buys from the classic Côte d’Or villages too (there are more in my vintage surveys). South Africa continues to offer some great bargains and Southern French, Italian and Chilean whites are better than they have ever been.
Cheverny 2004 Dom du Salvard
£6.80 Jeroboams
Good-value alternative to Sancerre – very crisp and delicate.
Chardonnay, Dom Bégude 2004 VDP d’Oc
£5.78 Goedhuis
Zestier than most Languedoc Chardonnays with the nerve associated with the Limoux hills. English-owned.
Montes Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Casablanca Valley
£5.99/4.79 Maj
Unusually fine Chilean from a producer on a serious roll. Fine, dry with a mineral undertow – more interesting than many a Marlborough example.
Montagny Premier Cru 2002
£5.99 Morrisons until 01 jan
A real find on a supermarket shelf. Punchy, lean, lightly oaked but with some bottle age too. Usually £7.99.
Tesco Finest Alsace Riesling 2004
£5.99 Tesco
From Kuehn of Ammerschwihr, an extremely well-priced true, delightfully dry Riesling with a slightly floral nose and some attractive smokiness. Drink it by April.
Adnams Selection La Tour du Prélat Blanc 2004 VDP du Principauté d’Orange
£5.99 Adnams
Full yet lively with really interesting bright fruit suggestive of a russet apple. Made of the (usually expensive) Rhône varieties Viognier and Marsanne.
Sainsbury’s Classic Selection Albariño 2004 Rias Baixas
£5.99 Sains
This own-label bottling from Lagar de Fornelos is not the subtlest, most elegant Albariño but it must be one of the best value. Its cool fruitiness shines through and demonstrates that here is a case of a perfect match between grape variety and location.
Mâcon-Igé, Le Crépillionne 2005 Fichet
£6.95 SVS
Great-value super-fruity southern white burgundy (not the Meursault Fichet).
Clos Petite Bellane Blanc 2004 Valréas, Côtes du Rhône
£6.99 Oddb
A good example of just how transformed white winemaking is in the Rhône valley. Farewell heavy, over-sulfured ferments, hello sunny, round, interesting wines like this blend of Roussanne and Viognier with greengage fruit and sufficient acidity for drinking this year. A good-looking package and something a little out of the ordinary. 13.5 per cent alcohol though.
Zonte’s Footstep Verdelho 2005 Langhorne Creek
£6.99 Somerfield, The Wine Society
Wonderfully exuberant, clean, fruity version of this traditional Madeira grape that found its way on to a ship bound for Australia centuries ago. Should keep for up to a year.
Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc 2005 Stellenbosch
£6.99 Waitrose
Open, honeyed, very full, competent fruity, tingly version of South Africa’s most popular grape. A world away from cheaper versions. See also the FM 2003 version at £14.99 which is much richer and worth cellaring. Leaner than the 2002.
Bourgogne Chardonnay 2004
£6.99 M&S
Inexpensive white burgundy from the Nicolas Potel stable – more recognisably Côte d’Or (from the outer reaches of Meursault apparently) than many a much more expensive wine. Creamy, transparent with some lemon savour.
Tesco Finest Alsace Gewurztraminer 2004
£6.99 Tesco
Very true, soft, almost blowsy rendition from Kuehn that is reminiscent of rose petals. For early drinking.
Marotti Campi, Luzano 2004 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
£7.19 Oddb
Excitingly smoky fragrance, good fruit and length from a well-established producer. Much more interesting than most Chardonnays at the price.
Soave 2004 Tamellini
£7.34 Goedhuis
Racy, exciting with honeyed fruit.
Touraine Azay-le-Rideau, Camille Claudel 2000 Pascal Pibaleau
£7.45 IFR
Great, piercing, off-dry Chenin with great layers of interest. I’d serve this as an aperitif but could imagine it going very happily with white fish dishes.
Ch de Lascaux 2003 Coteaux du Languedoc
£7.50 L&S
Nervy, interesting blend of Vermentino with Roussanne and Marsanne. Intriguing and very persistent.
Charles Back Chenin Blanc/Viognier 2005 Coastal Region
£7.99 Somerfield, larger Tescos
The acidity of the Chenin gives the richer, fatter, headily-scented Viognier some real zip. A clever Cape blend from the ever-resourceful Charles Back of Goats do Roam fame.
Felsner Grüner Veltliner Moosburgerin 2004 Kremstal
£7.99 Waitrose
Great value from Austria – a very fine, full-bodied dry wine made from the country’s spicy signature grape. Smoky and fine.
Vergelegen Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Stellenbosch
£7.99 Maj
Good core of ripe fruit in the middle while being suitably invigorating. Not bone dry but well made by South Africa’s most garlanded winemaker.
Brampton Viognier 2004 Stellenbosch
£7.99 Waitrose
Great value – the cheap version of Guigal’s Condrieu below.
Bourgogne Vézelay 2004 J M Brocard
£7.99 Adnams
Brocard makes some of the best value Chablis and this wine is no exception even if it is not strictly entitled to the nearby Chablis appellation. Nothing blowsy about this – just pure wet stones such as classic Chablis lovers lust after.
Vergelegen Chardonnay 2004 Stellenbosch
£7.99 bigger Sains, Maj
This is a great buy. I can’t help wondering how long this, South Africa’s most garlanded winery, can continue to offer its wines at bargain prices through the likes of Sainsbury’s and Majestic. The Anglo-American-owned spectacular winery must be making a heck of a lot of wine… This is racy, pungent, lemon creamy sort of wine is not in the heavily oaked, rich style – typical of a fine South African Chardonnay in fact.
Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Gris 2005 New Zealand
£7.99 Waitrose from 24 nov
Fashionable grape and excellent value compared with similar quality from Alsace. Full and round. One of the best examples of Pinot Gris I have come across from NZ.
Tesco Finest Great Southern Riesling 2003
£7.99 Tesco
Great refresher from Howard Park in Western Australia, only just off dry and a lovely smooth texture. Drink now, with or without food.
d’Arenberg, The Hermit Crab Marsanne/Viognier 2004 McLaren Vale
Luvians £7.49, Phillips Newman £7.99, Peckhams £8.49, £8.99 Oddb
Full, rich and opulent, this Australian blend of two fat ladies has, just, enough tang. Tastes rather of cow gum.
Tesco Finest Estate Reserve Denman Vineyard Chardonnay 2003 Hunter Valley
£7.99 Tesco
This does actually taste of Hunter Valley wine with its curious warm soil ‘twang’ on the palate and no shortage of oomph – definitely one of the more characterful Australian Chardonnays I have come across at this price, although personally I’d say any of the Rieslings are better value.
Pinot Blanc, Dom Paul Blanck 2004 Alsace
£8.10 Jeroboams
A decidedly superior and extremely versatile Blanc de Blanck.
Tokay Pinot Gris, Vallée Noble 2002 Haag
£8.25 SVS
Honeyed yet excitingly tangy Alsace with a strong streak of acidity.
Calera Chardonnay 2000 Central Coast
£8.49/6.79 Maj
Remember when this wine used to cost a bomb? Thick, sweet, heavy – a touch of butterscotch but there is acidity too. If blockbuster California Chard is your thing, this one comes from an impeccable source.
Jack & Knox Frostline Riesing 2004 South Africa
£8.50 WotT
Very fine product of one of the Cape’s coolest vineyards – most unusual.
Verdicchio di Matelica, La Monasesca 2003 Marche
£8.50 WotT
So much fruit this is almost honeyed.
Anakena, Ona Assemblage 2004 Rapel
£8.50 SVS
Peachy, well-structured, intriguing Chilean oaked blend of Viognier with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Amethystos Ktima Kosta Lazaridi 2003 Drama
£8.59 Oddb
Good to see that Oddbins, the Greek pioneers, continue to offer some of the country’s finest – more often white than red, funnily enough. This is explosive and exciting with lots of fruit and charm.
Bourgogne Vézelay, Le Clos 2003 Elise Villiers
£8.85 IFR
Strongly mineral. Quite taut and deep flavoured. Some richness (it’s 2003) but quite enough acidity too. Very creditable white burgundy from the fringes of Chablis.
Luisa Pinot Grigio 2004 Isonzo
£8.95 Mayfair Cellars
Intense, floral, dense – fine wine by any standards, like so many from Friuli in north east Italy.
St Véran 2003 Dom Fussiacus
£8.95 Wine Discoveries
Lovely wine – made with real brio, Tastes like ripe pears but there is no shortage of zip either. Voluptuous indeed.
Sileni Unoaked Chardonnay 2004 Hawkes Bay
£8.99/5.99 WR
Very pure, racy fruit from New Zealand’s Chardonnay cradle. Quite a bit of alcohol – 14 per cent – but no shortage of refreshing acidity. Best drunk with food, nevertheless.
Mâcon Terroir de Charnay 2004 Dom Cordier
£8.99/7.99 Maj
Rich start and then very nervy, taut finish from a fine producer of southern white burgundy. This wine could be enjoyed any time over the next couple of years.
Chablis 2003
£8.99 M&S
Being a 2003, this is maturing faster than most other vintages but, as usual for M&S’s Chablis, this is very true, correct and pure. Not even a matchstick has been near it.
Casa Silva, Lolol Viognier 2003 Colchagua
£8.99 Barrels & Bottles, Frank Stainton of Kendal, Great Northern Wine, Thameside Wines of Putney
The 2003 of this serious Chilean has aged well and the 2004 Gran Reserva, £9.99 Oddb, is absolutely captivating.
d’Arenberg, Money Spider Roussanne 2004 McLaren Vale
£8.99 Oddb (low stock)
Delicious Roussanne fruit with more personality than many a French version yet some delicacy too. Green leaves flavour preserved by a screwcap. Bravo!
Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 1999 Thevenot-le-Brun
£9.50 IFR
Good price for a mature white burgundy that is all woodsmoke and cold stone. Quite powerful.
Dom de Roally 2002 Mâcon Villages 2002
£9.95 L&S
Sweet start then great life and vigour; first vintage from a property new to local magician Jean Thevenet. Excellent.
Greco di Tufo 2004 Vesevo
£9.99/8.99 Maj
Very smart bottle and pretty smart wine with masses of fruit and subtlety from the increasingly fashionable Campania region in the hills above Naples.
Givry Blanc 2003 Dom Guy Chaumont
£9.99 Adnams
This is a very flirtatious number - positively wraps its legs around you, with rich flavours of lemon and lime soda. Organic too. Good price.
Pouilly Fuissé 2004
£9.99 M&S
Rich, full, broad and competent made, according to M&S, by Rotem Brakin. Anagram time, surely.
Santorini 2004 Dom Hatzidakis
£9.99 Adnams
Great minerals, lemon and no shortage of fruit
Stonier Chardonnay 2004 Mornington Peninsula
£9.99 larger Sains
From cool vineyards right on the Antarctic-influenced ocean south of Melbourne, this tight yet creamy-texture wine is extremely refreshing with an undertow of green fruits. It should develop for at least another couple of years, I’d have thought.
Rustenberg Chardonnay 2003 Stellenbosch
£10.50 SVS
Very fine indeed. Complete, confident and zesty South African. For classicists.
Viré-Clessé Vieilles Vignes 2002 Chazelles
£10.75 SVS
Good to find a lemony white burgundy from this fine vintage that is such a good price and already an easy drink.
Pouilly Fumé 2004 Dom Nicolas Gaudry
£10.95 BBR
Quite a find, a sixth generation young vigneron who trained in Beaune and worked in South Africa and has obviously brought something fresh and exciting to an appellation that can all too often be vapid – especially in 2004. Oozing distinction and depth.
Laurent Miquel, Verité Viognier 2004 Coteaux du Languedoc
£11.99 bigger Waitrose stores (low stocks)
A southern French, barrel fermented attempt at the depth of a Condrieu – fair value.
Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc, Clos des Vernots 2003 Bertrand Ambroise
£12.50 WotT
Creamy, slightly soft but great-value white burgundy drinking well now.
Crawford River Riesling 2003 Henty, Victoria
£13.10 J&B
Wonderful stuff. Very pure and focussed – off the beaten Australian track but definitely one of the country’s best dry Rieslings. Great purity. This wine has demonstrated a great ability to age although it’s already delicious. Underpriced, I’d say.
St Péray 2003 Bernard Gripa
£13.50 Vine Trail
One of the best St Pérays I have tasted with, amazingly in this heatwave vintage, enough vivacity as well as seriously deep, rich fruit. Real wine.
Amayna Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Leyda
£13.99 Oddb
Much-admired producer in one of Chile’s newest, Pacific-cooled wine regions. This is serious stuff with great depth and excitement – full throttle Sauvignon but not such good value as, for example, the Gaudry Pouilly Fumé at £10.95.
Fortnum’s Pouilly Fuissé 2003 Verget
£14.50 F&M
Classic, racy southern white burgundy from a producer currently on a roll. Both creamy and delicate. Lea & Sandeman (who have a great selection of southern white burgundies) sell a very similar wine for £14.95.
Blanc de Rosis 2003 Schiopetto
£14.95 L&S
Great exciting Friuli blend of Tocai, Pinot Grigio, Ribolla, Sauvignon and oak-fermented Malvasia. Great value for a such a serious wine thrill.
Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Auslese trocken 2003 Künstler
£14.99 top three Waitrose
Good for Waitrose for tackling this controversial style – a German wine that initially seems very rich but finishes dry, and manages not to be too hot and alcoholic on the finish. Full and vibrant. This would be a lovely wine to serve for white wine drinkers with turkey.
Le Faite 2003 Côtes de St Mont
£14.99 Adnams
An interesting blend of indigeous south west France grape varieties (Arrufiac, Petit Courbu and the Mansengs since you ask) given light oak ageing. Bring back memories of Club Gascon with this seriously interesting, tangy wine. No bargain though.
Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2003 Dom William Fèvre
£14.99 Waitrose
Very pure, correct, proper Chablis that, because of the heat of the vintage, is already a pleasure to drink. Classic wet stones flavours.
Tokay Pinot Gris Hengst 2002 Alsace Grand Cru
£16.50 top Waitrose stores
Full, opulent, honeyed but far from cloying. Real tension. Great with pâté.
Hartford Chardonnay 2003 Sonoma Coast
£16.95 Mayfair Cellars
Sweet and spicy but good grainy texture and certainly not over the top or exaggerated.
Fortnum’s Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2003 Hirtzberger
£17.50 F&M
Wonderfully broad and rich yet with a dry finish. Exciting and fashionable Austrian from an impeccable source which used to be £20.95.
Pernand Vergelesses sous Fretille 2003 Rémi Rollin
£19.30 J&B
Great white burgundy for drinking now from one of the cooler appellations that did so well in this heatwave vintage. Gentle, already quite soft but it has all the lemon and smoke that you could desire. Do not keep!
Condrieu 2004 André Perret
£19.75 Vine Trail
A very restrained but focussed perfume – much more tension than most Condrieus possibly showing the class of this vintage. You could keep this up to a year.
Condrieu 2003 Guigal
£19.99 top Waitrose stores
Very classy, peachy honeysuckle classic that is ready to hoover up this minute. Good price.
Grosset Chardonnay 2002 Adelaide Hills
approx £20 Noel Young, Veritas
Very fine – nearing maturity with impressive complexity – from Australia’s king of Riesling.
Pinot Gris d’Alsace, Colline aux Escargots 2002 Rieffel
£20.45 BBR
Pure and zesty biodynamic wine with a particularly rich and exciting nose. It finishes bone dry. For connoisseurs to enjoy over the next five years.
Chassagne-Montrachet, Morgeots 2002 Lequin-Colin
£22.50 SVS
Refreshingly pure white burgundy for drinking over the next three years.
Puligny-Montrachet, Clavoillon 2003 Dom Leflaive
£43 Jeroboams of NW8 and £36 Howard Ripley in January(!). £476 a dozen from Armit, London W11.
Wonderfully lively yet opulent biodynamic wine with personality flooding out of every drop. Already giving pleasure.
ROSE
Matahiwi Rose 2004 Wairarapa
£7.49 Oddb
New Zealand Pinot in lunchtime form. Lots to get your teeth into. Screwcap of course. I prefer this to the red version.
R de Rimauresq 2004 Côtes de Provence
£15.99 Cellar Door of Hampshire, The Vineyard of Dorking, Wiland Wines
Fine and delicate and very pale with some herby character and a dry finish. ‘Proper ‘Provencal pink.
For even more fine wine recommendations see the purple pages of www.jancisrobinson.com. For multiple retailers’ special offers, especially those that may well emerge between now and Christmas, see www.quaffersoffers.co.uk
How to find the wines
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all retailers mentioned here, merely those for whom an abbreviation was useful. Most retailers offer discounts on bigger orders; many sell online; some of the smaller ones sell a minimum of 12 assorted bottles. For details of more stockists, in the UK and internationally, see www.winesearcher.com
BBR – Berry Bros & Rudd
BRW – Big Red Wine Company, Barton Mills, Suffolk
F&M – Fortnum & Mason, London
HN – Harvey Nichols, London
IFR – Irma Fingal Rock, Monmouth
J&B – Justerini & Brooks, London SW1 and Edinburgh
L&S – Lea & Sandeman around London
M&S – Marks & Spencer
Maj – Majestic (second price denotes a multiple bottle purchase)
Oddb – Oddbins
Sains – Sainsbury’s
SVS – Stone, Vine & Sun, Twyford SO21 1QA
Thresh – Thresher (second per bottle price applies if three bottles are bought)
WotT – Wine of the Times, London
WR – Wine Rack (second per bottle price applies if three bottles are bought)
CdP – Châteauneuf-du-Pape
CDRV – Côtes-du-Rhône Villages
Ch – Château
Dom – Domaine
NV – non vintage
VDP – Vin de Pays
VOSR – very old sherry