Two dozen great summer whites (and pinks)

Here are some of the best buys in white (and pink) wines to have come my way recently.

Exceptionally good value – fine, cool and fresh. You could also drink this with white fish either steamed, grilled or in seviche. Alas the French authorities have decided to abandon the evocatively named Vin de Pays of ‘the Garden of France’ and have replaced the name with the prosaic, but arguably more informative, Vin de Pays du Val de Loire.

 

Another really racy Sauvignon de Touraine from last year’s excellent vintage. This one has good texture and is very direct and aromatic.

 

The perfect summer aperitif – very light and refreshing but with masses of extract and flavour. This wine is finely etched and beautifully crafted by Kurt’s son Gernot Hain in his 200 year-old cellars beneath the family’s hotel named after this famous vineyard – nothing whatever to do with sugarwater labelled Piesporter Michelsberg. Masses of zesty acidity to get the appetite going.

 

It’s not easy to find a rosé with both character and freshness but this extremely pale pink wine is mouthfilling and reminiscent of the hills of the Languedoc.

Stunning value. Single vineyard wine from Italy’s Adriatic coast made from grapes ripened to the limit. No oak but masses of tangy flavour.

 

Great value rich yet well balanced, complete southern white burgundy from the joint operation of Jean-Luc Terrier and Domaine des Deux Roches which is also responsible for Berry’s White Burgundy, a Bourgogne Blanc, at £7.95 a bottle. 

 

From one of the satellite appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé which arguably have to try harder. Another beneficiary of 2006’s refreshing combination of ripe Sauvignon fruit and finely etched acidity. This wine has a hint of the attractive smokiness than adds the Fumé to the Loire’s Pouilly.

 

Whistle-clean, florally scented but absolutely dry – and very taut thanks to its screwcap.

This fine, mineral-infused white burgundy from a St Aubin grower spreads nicely across the palate and is more pure and satisfying than many much more expensive wines carrying grander appellations.

Masterful pink wine for drinking with food made near Nîmes by a close associate of René Rostaing of Côte Rôtie.

Very rich but not as sweet as many New Zealand examples and wonderfully racy – much more refreshing than most Alsace examples. Very well done.

 

Classically rooted island wine from these magical Greek volcanic soils and a top quality grape variety that seems perfectly suited to them. Should intrigue and satisfy any wine lover.

 

The Atlantic in a glass – one of Galicia’s jewels and just the thing to drink with shellfish. Albariño is the grape and somehow manages to deliver enormous refreshment with great balance and intriguingly marine flavours. Bone dry, unoaked, this wine could also be drunk without food. 

You could serve this to a rabid wine lover, say at an outdoor lunch or picnic supper. It’s made from the less concentrated juice run off from Ch Pichon Longueville (Baron), the super second Pauillac property, and tastes like it. Bone dry and very substantial, this verges on a light red and is extremely fascinating – unlike any other wine I have tasted recently. 

Classic ‘wet stones’ on the nose yet accessible and hugely enjoyable now in a linear sort of way. Good price and the regular bottling is pretty good too.

There could hardly be an easier wine to drink than this. Why? It has that combination of richness which helps it slide down easily yet is certainly not sweet – and the aroma is completely captivating with all the white pepper and dill that Austria’s signature grape can muster when it is really ripe, as the November-picked grapes on these 60 year-old vines clearly were in 2005. This is not a classic vintage for Austria but this wine certainly succeeded. Presumably the very long growing season helped pack all that flavour into every mouthful.

Rather a lean nose but some honey richness on the palate. Sensitively made.

Exceptionally fine answer to top quality white burgundy from 85 year-old vines grown at slightly higher altitude in the Jura. Bone dry, traditional character and extremely persistent. Most unusual.

 

From one of Sonoma’s most respected sources of fine Chardonnay, and a steep vineyard that has been the source of Kistler’s Dutton Ranch bottling. This is a sort of California Chablis (nothing like Gallo’s Mountain White Chablis). Only the richness on the finish anchors it firmly in California. Excellent value at this keen price.

 

I find it hard to believe this massive wine is only 13.5% alcohol and it should certainly be served cautiously with equally powerfully flavoured food, but it’s a real talking point with its flavours of honey and hazelnuts and immensely long finish. It’s a Catalan blend, popular at El Bulli, of 60% Garnacha Blanca with the local Picapoll, Pansal and Maccabeu grapes. It would go well with a rich, creamy tart or soufflé – smoked haddock perhaps?

 

If the triumvirate of Cuilleron, Gaillard and Villard (behind Vins de Vienne) can’t produce top quality Condrieu, who can? Tesco used to sell this, I note.

 

Intensely rich but very firm too. Wonderfully pungent from the master of Grüner. A very fair price for one of Austria’s crown jewels – but then San Francisco seems to be the world capital of Grüner appreciation.

 

France’s most idiosyncratic appellation, devoted to one producer with one amphitheatre of Viognier vines has been difficult to love for many vintages but in 2004 white bordeaux wizard Denis Dubourdieu was brought in to give the wine a good scrub and here at last we have real freshness even at three years old. There’s a deeply mineral nose and then dense fruit and a wonderfully creamy fruit. Even the most jaded wine enthusiast would be fascinated by this evidence of a new era at this famous white Rhône landmark.

 

See www.winesearcher.com for international stockists.