White Wine

Chris writes "Equal measures of Viognier and Marsanne create this gorgeous, vibrant Rhone white which served to give my palate a much needed wake-up call when it crossed my path at a tasting back in October. Unoaked, it’s all about vibrant stone fruit and citrus flavours finishing with that mouth-cleansing acidity. "

Simon of Domaine Capmartin has dusted off the historic traditions of Madiran and Pacherenc de Vic-Bil into a new, more progressive age.

He has set about significant changes amongst the vines and in the winery leading to his own unique versions of these truly exceptional AOP wines. Certified organic for the best part of a decade, Simon is now striving further with his sights firmly set on Biodynamic certification. Natural, low intervention winemaking are the watchwords. No added sulphur, all wild ferments and aiming for light tannins makes for previously unknown modern, fresh and delicious Madiran Tannat.

Simon of Domaine Capmartin has dusted off the historic traditions of Madiran and Pacherenc de Vic-Bil into a new, more progressive age.

He has set about significant changes amongst the vines and in the winery leading to his own unique versions of these truly exceptional AOP wines. Certified organic for the best part of a decade, Simon is now striving further with his sights firmly set on Biodynamic certification. Natural, low intervention winemaking are the watchwords. No added sulphur, all wild ferments

DR. LO Riesling has just the right amount of fruitiness to balance the crisp acidity. On the palate it is clearly Riesling, but it walks the line between a fruity and drier style. The characteristic acidity of Mosel Riesling helps it finish fresh and clean. If shown blind it may not be recognized as alcohol-free.

Is this a slightly blush orange wine, a rose made using orange wine methods or a bit of both? Who knows and, frankly who cares - when a wine is this deliciously drinkable who cares what label we bup on it.

Made from Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, fermented on skins and aged in 1000L Amphorae, this is an orange wine with a definate pink hue (OK, so maybe we do care what label we put on it). Seriously cool and refreshing and packed with stone fruits, mineral rocks and a hint of anise.

Altolandon

On the nose, this Sauvignon Blanc displays citrus aromas, of lime and tangerine. The palate features aromas of mandarin, tropical fruits and herbal notes. A wine with a refreshing acidity, great depth and persistence.

Notes of baked apple, peach, citrus and honey are to the fore whilst on the palate it is dry with a mouthfilling richness. Following fermentation the wine is left on its lees for a period of 9 months to add concentration and depth and you can really feel this additional texture in the mouth.

This is a dry style Pinot Gris with aromas and flavours of Nashi pear, peach, citrus and honey. A small portion of barrel fermentation has added richness and complexity to this delicious and highly drinkable wine.

Esk Valley Estate

This a very aromatic and intensely flavoured wine true to its Marlborough origins. Its flavours are a mix of ripe tropical fruits, citrus and cooler notes of green fruits and fresh herbs. It is rich and full-flavoured style with a crisp dry finish which provides freshness and length to the palate.

Esk Valley

Pronounced and complex nose with savoury, nutty aromas and hints of fennel, ginger and white spice. The palate is fine, concentrated and textural, with crisp citrus and lightly honeyed stone fruit balanced by minerality and sappy acidity.

Cantine Nicosia

Wild yeast fermentation, low yields and naturally balanced grapes inform this ripe unoaked textural Chardonnay. Extended time on the lees adds nutty and toasty notes. Intense yet delicate right through to the finish.

The long wild yeast ferment provides bready aromas and additional complexity to the wine. Dried herbaceous notes, including fennel and aniseed from the nearby Fynbos, dominate the nose, followed by a creamy lemon character. The palate is reminiscent of the nose, with great textural complexity (attributable to the long, slow wild yeast fermentation), and more herbal characters.

Solevari Feteascã Regalã comes from selected areas of the vineyard with fractured Limestone and light iron oxide rich loams, clay soils. Typically they are the areas known to produce better grapes. The grapes are given an extended ripening period to allow development of more intense flavour. The grippy mouth feel, typical for Feteascã Regalã is well expressed in this wine by allowing full fermentation to dryness, to create a sophisticated palate

Golden yellow with greenish reflections, good limpidity. Mineral, with slight tints of black locust flowers and the discovery of white ripped fruits in the background (peaches, pears, pineapple). Good acidity, elegance, present mineralisation, balance and a medium aftertaste.

Dark yellow with light orange reflexes. Fully ripe dried tropical fruit, charming Veltliner spice and well balanced and a light tannic structure.

An enticing nose of white peach and pear with hints of fresh lime and gooseberry. Fresh and light zesty citrus notes and crisp acidity lift a textured, medium-bodied palate.

Azienda Agricola la Battistina

La Battistina, situated in the north west region of Piedmonte, is an estate situated around the town of Gavi, and considered one of the best sites in Gavi. The vineyards are south facing with chalky and mineral soils, which allow the Cortese grape to ripen to its fullest. The wine is aromatic, with zesty citrus, lime and pineapple notes with a hint of minerality. The weighty fruit gives this wine an immensely long finish.

La Battistina

The wine is made from the traditional Kisi grape grown in the villages of Akhmeta district. Whole bunches are fermented in underground qvevri, lending the wine it’s amber colour, distinctive flavour and mildly tannic structure.

Kisi is a native Georgian grape with sweet spice notes and great acidity, perfect for maintaining freshness. Fermentation in Qvevries adds great complexity and texture.

Teliani Valley

Weingut Oliver Zeter

With the grapes harvested at the end of Ocotber the long ripening season ensures a brilliant, luminous, deep golden colour with flashes of gold and green. An outstanding, elegant and balanced wine with captivating fragrances of white flowers, minerals, citrus, white fruit, pear and apple overlaid by subtle honey. The fine acidity melds well in the richness of the body and in the long aftertaste of mineral and fruit.

Terredora di Paolo

Top quality, biodynamic, Gruner Veltliner from the Terrassen single vineyard - seriously concentrated!

Citrus and herbal aromas - with typical spicy Veltliner notes and hints of green pepper and cucumber. The palate has mineral and flinty characters, oriental spice, and fresh citrus acidity on the finish.

A fabulously expressive Sauvignon, brimming with ripe aromatics with a fresh, zippy finish. It’s not challenging or mould-breaking, it’s just cracking good wine with an interesting back story behind it’s name. Adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and rich in Polynesian mythology, Motu Nui was the essential location for Easter Island’s legendary bird-man cult Tangata manu. Representatives from each island clan would wait for the visiting sooty terns to lay their first egg on Motu Nui, then swim across the shark-infested bay bearing that egg and climb the mainland cliffs of the Orongo volcano to claim rights of power and privilege for their clan for the following year. Many of the protagonists were devoured by sharks or fell to their deaths in this visceral trial of courage.

Bacchus is rapidly gaining recognition as the UK’s “signature” grape variety, producing aromatic and frequently quite intense styles of white which have been compared to Sauvignon Blanc. Blended here with 25% Chardonnay it has been both toned down and fattened up to give a really well balanced, lightish white, ideal for summer drinking.

Hermandad Chardonnay shows a pale yellow colour with greenish highlights. The nose is concentrated and intense with citrus, pineapple and green apple aromas, interwoven with vanilla notes from the oak and some mineral characters from the soil. With a great concentration and elegance, on the palate the first impact is ripe, well balanced by the natural acidity, with rich white fruits and toast bread, and light notes of vanilla. Its finish is long and persistent

Bodega Los Haroldos

Weingut Horst Sauer is named after its owner. Both Horst and his daughter Sandra (who joined the winery in 2004) are winemakers at their 37 hectare estate in Franken - situated near Wurzburg (between Frankfurt and Nuremberg). Their vineyards are focused around the ‘Erste Lagen’ (prime) sites of Escherndorfer Lump and Escherndorfer Fürstenberg. Escherndorfer Lump is a steep south-facing slope protected from cold north-eastern winds, with a top layer of limestone-rich soil.

This is the exquisite Escherndorf am Lumpen - a ‘Grosse Lage’ vineyard plot (a classification given to the best German vineyard sites) first recorded in 1655. This is on the steepest slopes of the Escherndorfer Lump vineyard where the vines are over 30 years old.

Franken Riesling is considered to be the most masculine expression of the variety from Germany (in stark contrast to the femininity of the Mosel) yet from the grand cru (GG site) this full bodied, bone dry Riesling is impressive in its structure and concentration.

Produced exclusively from hand harvested grapes in predominantly clay and limestone vineyards, from a dozen of the most favored localities in and around Riquewihr. Gentil "Hugel" allies the suave, spicy flavour of Gewurztraminer, the body of Pinot Gris, the finesse of Riesling, the grapiness of Muscat and the refreshing character of both Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner.

Hugel

Concentrated, spicy Alsace wine with a characteristically opulent bouquet, a fruity intensity on the palate and a long, dry finish.

Hugel

Soft and supple with all the full ripe fruit flavours you would expect, apricot, greengage along with a hint of licquorice. Very mouth-filling, rich and well constructed and really juicy on the finish.

ucked away on a tributary of the Mosel, Andreas Adam’s immaculate south-western facing vineyards owe a certain amount to the inhospitality of the region. The steep slopes antd harsh working conditions encouraged many younger folk to abandon their family estates in the 1970s and 80s and seek an easier life in the cities – Andreas’s parents included. By the time Andreas had graduated from Geisenheim, prices had dropped to a level which allowed him to assemble 5 ha of prime vineyard on which to work his magic. This is classic “off-dry” German Riesling, beautifully aromatic with notes of lime and grapefruit. Serve with light starters or, personally, I’d have it just on its own as an aperitif.

The wine shows concentrated marzipan and citrus notes, with underlying hazelnut and lime notes, which adds to layered complexity. The wine is seamless, with flavoursome and long finish.

Beautiful fruit purity of limes and ripe gooseberry, with tropical, floral and fine herbal notes, ruby grapefruit and white pear drop on the finish. This is cool climate Sauvignon Blanc – vibrant, mineral, elegant, balanced and delicate, with a long, layered and complex finish.

Iona

Its green gold color has some bright and luminous reflects. Its nose is quite expressive and complex. It evolves all along the tasting. It opens beautifully on exotic fruits, green mango, citrus, honey and a hint of menthol. The mouth is powerful, round and harmonious. One can taste fresh grape but also a refreshing and sharp minerality. It is a particularly long lasting wine.

Famille Bourgeois Sancerre

Aromas of fresh peach and kiwi with hints of jasmine and white pepper. The palate has ripe and juicy stone fruit and honeydew melon characters, refreshing acidity and a gently spicy finish. Enjoy with shellfish, quiche and pasta salads. Or with lightly spicy Thai dishes.

A nose of pink grapefruit, passion fruit, and mandarin oil notes. The palate is rich with minerality and racy lime zest acidity, giving a lovely texture and intensity.

Bodegas Naia

Kakhuri N8 is a blend of 4 Georgian indigenous grape varieties – Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Khikhvi and Kisi, harvested in Kakheti, east Georgia. Grapes are exclusively hand selected and only highest quality, fully ripe grapes are used for production. The wine is made using old Kakhetian traditional winemaking method with skin contact. Fermentation on skins takes place for 7-10 days, once the fermentation is finished the grape skin remain with the wine for 6 months.

Full of rich dried fruit and nutty flavours and long dry refreshing finish are much easier to get your mouth around than the grape varieties that have gone into it!

Teliani Valley

From 20 year old vines grown in the south facing Arany Sajgó vineyard on volcanic white zeolite soil..

Pale green in colour with an intense nose. Fresh, with notes of gooseberry, pear and lime. which follow through on the palate. Dry and beautifully crisp with an elegant minerality which keeps the wine in balance.

Kardos Winery

Maison Roche de Bellene

Single vineyard, biodynamic and organic beauty. Notes of bergamot, peach and apricot - richness balanced by racy acidity.

M. Chapoutier

"Petit Guiraud is a fresh and precise Sauternes, and is the result of a long period of reflection on the wine style and its drinkability. As the flag-flyer for modernity and accessible pleasure, Petit Guiraud is a slice of luxury to be enjoyed every day." - Luc Planty, Director

Chateau Guiraud

A delicious off-dry style of Chenin Blanc with stony minerality, fresh just-picked walnuts, a hint of lime and a slightly sappy fresh note. The palate is honeyed with limeflower, apple, ginger and a clean mineral finish. The sweetness is perfectly integrated and balanced, resulting in a refreshing wine with good length. Will cellar brilliantly for as many as ten years becoming even more concentrated and refined.