2008 Knappstein, Ackland Vineyard, Watervale Riesling, Clare Valley, Australia
Majestic, £10.99 or buy two for £8.49 each until February l; Bibendum, £9.99
Not so long ago Aussie rieslings would not have been able to compete with Germany’s finest. The best riesling sites, such as the Clare valley in South Australia, particularly the Watervale region, have long been recognised as prime locations, but few treated the grape seriously. Now it’s hard to prise top drops like this lively, spicy, floral, single-vineyard offering off the Aussie rock.
2008 Domaine Bailly Sancerre, France
Marks & Spencer, £10.99 down to £8.79 from Monday until November 29
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Traditional drinkers will always seek out sancerre and ignore the often delicious satellite sauvignons of the Loire, often on sale for a lot less. If it’s got to be the real thing this sparky, zesty, verdant, keenly priced bottle is the one to go with that celebration seafood platter. Jacques Bailly and his daughter Sonia’s lean, tart, squeaky-clean, unoaked, stainless steel-fermented sancerre is the best of its ilk on the high street this winter.
2008 RK Riesling Trocken, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Germany
Wine Society, £8.95
Regular readers know by now that I am a big fan of the well-distributed, well-situated 36 ha-strong, von Kesselstatt wines of the Mosel. Von K owns some of the finest mosel vineyards, which explains why RK’s trocken, or dry, blended riesling — launched in l999 to mark the estate’s 650th anniversary — is so good. Enjoy this elegant, floral, waxy, grapey, lemon-zest-spiked riesling either as an invigorating ap?ritif or with mild fishy first courses.
2007 Extra Special Chablis, Domaine de la Lev?e, France
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Asda, £8.98
High street chablis quality goes up and down like a yo-yo and this variability helps to explain why wine drinkers find it hard to get to grips with its bone dry, steely, stony style. The best sub-£10 offering this year is this impressive greeny-gold, ripe, lemony, flinty, floral ‘07 — a great chablis vintage from a great producer, Jean-Marc Brocard, complete with a long, lingering nutty, lemony finish.
2008 Paul Cluver Gewurztraminer, Elgin, South Africa
Hedley Wright, £8.99; Waitrose, £9.99
Paul Cluver is one of the great wine producers in Elgin, just east of Cape Town, best known for their Teutonic-inspired, luscious, late-harvest stickies and gorgeous gewurztraminers. This one, made from 23-year-old gewurz vines handpicked in the cool of the early morning to avoid the sweltering midday heat, and its off-dry, wonderfully elegant, spicy, grapey, rose petal-perfumed style, makes it the perfect smoked salmon and stir-fry white.
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2008 Haute Victoire Quincy, Henri Bourgeois, France
Les Caves de Pyrène, £10.99
Who wants acidic, cat’s pee-scented sancerre when you can have a truly elegant satellite sauvignon for usually a lot less? Quincy lies southwest of Sancerre and the Loire and a hop across the Cher River but the best producers here, such as Henri Bourgeois, make elegant sauvignons that can be every bit as stylish as sancerre.
I loved this ripe gooseberry and greengage-layered quincy that closes on a mouthwatering tart, lemony note.
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2008 Sirch Pinot Grigio, Colli Orientali del Friuli, Sirch di Sirch, Italy
Tanners, £11.20 (or special six-bottle price for Times readers of £9.95 until December 15)
This dry, rich, and intense Italian white with fine, floral, grapey, nutty flavours is a pinot grigio that you would actually want to drink. Made by two brothers, Pierpaolo, the viticulturist, and Luca, the winemaker, who get the best from the local marl soil. Serve as a mixed buffet and festive leftovers white.
2008 Petit Chablis, Domaine Billaud-Simon, France
Montrachet, and Taurus Wines, £11.50
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Billaud-Simon’s classy, concentrated chablis have popped up often in The Top 100 but this is the first time a petit chablis from this estate has knocked out its similarly labelled competitors. Petit chablis is just what it says it is: a kindergarten chablis made from chardonnay grapes grown in outlying vineyards, and some producers also pop in the grapes from young vines not yet entitled to the full appellation. B-S’s tasty version delivers some classic lively, leafy, lemony, floral fruit.
2007 Domaine Michel, Vir?-Cless?, Ren? Michel et Fils, France
Raeburn Fine Wines, £11.99
Splashing out almost £12 a bottle on a white Mâconnais may seem extravagant but honestly this toothsome ’07, one of the best vintages in recent years, is worth every penny. The three brothers, Denis, Franck and Vincent Michel, are the latest generation of their family to work the 17 ha of their estate’s venerable, 50-year-old chardonnay vines, and their unadorned, elegant, waxy, smoky, perfumed white burgundy is a winner.
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2008 Mâcon Milly Lamartine, Domaine Chêne, France
Bristol Wine Company, £9.95; Daniel Lambert Wines, £9.49 cases only; Martinez £11.49
Finally, Mâconnais producers are doing the decent thing, cutting yields and concentrating on quality. Domaine Chêne, founded in 1970 by C?dric Chêne and his wife, is one of a new breed of conscientious growers whose sizeable family domaine includes vineyards in and around the top sites of La Roche Vineuse and Saint-V?ran. The better mâcon village wines can now append their own village names to the appellation, hence this Mâcon-Milly Lamartine from a superior Mâconnais vintage. In the Chêne family’s hands, this rich, golden white burgundy oozes intense leafy, greengage and glac? fruit. A triumph.