The summer merry-go-round of wine has started. Fret not if you are on a tight budget or if your eyes glaze over at the wall of wine at your nearest wine shop: I’ll sort out the ideal summer wine cellar for you, with every bottle from £2.99 to £20 worth buying. With wines from the four corners of the world, read on to find out what bottles you should really be uncorking, says Jane MacQuitty 

 

 

 

 

 

2005 Cheverny, Le Vieux Clos, Domaine Delaille, France, Majestic, £5.99.

If the sauvignons of Sancerre are too tart for you, then try one of the Loire’s easier-swigging whites. Emmanuelle Delaille’s gorgeous, passion fruit-scented Cheverny sauvignon, softened with a dash of chardonnay, still has the delicious, tingly, herb and gooseberry-charged sauvignon style, but is less aggressively verdant and acidic. A good summer aperitif, or white meat or fish wine.

 

2005 Nord Sud Viognier, Vin de Pays d’Oc, Laurent Miquel, France, Tesco, £5.49 until June 20; Majestic, £5.49 until June 15.

This impressive viognier is made from higher-altitude vines planted north to south, hence its name, which escape the midday sun, but catch the morning and evening light. Night harvesting, cool fermentation and a third matured in oak, all help this viognier’s delicate, fragrant, seductive spiced-peach, honeysuckle and aniseed-charged style.

 

2005 Meinklang Burgenland Dry White, Austria, Vintage Roots(0118 9761999), £6.50.

This grüner veltliner, welschriesling and pinot blanc blend manages to deliver so much elegant, appley, spicy white pepper-laced fruit, complete with a long, thrilling, lemon-zest finish, that it romped home in this section. Anyone looking for an unusual, vegetarian and vegan-suitable summer aperitif made from organic grapes will have met their match with this one.

 

2004 Alsace Gewürztraminer, Taste the Difference, Cave de Turckheim, France, Sainsbury’s, £6.99.

Hard to keep up with all these superior supermarket wine selections,  like this juicy, traditionally fermented gewürz from one of Alsace’s top co-ops. With lots of rich, spicy, scented yellow plum and exotic lychee fruit to the fore, and 13.5 per cent alcohol on board, this is best served with food – curries, spicy stir-fries, and even summer fruit flans work well.

 

2005 Mâcon-Villages, Cave de Prissé-Sologny-Verzé, France, Marks & Spencer, £5.99.

Several UK supermarkets buy their white Mâconnais from this expanded co-operative, but St Michael’s is made exclusively for them by the Cave de Prissé’s Georges Brichon. This sleek, elegant, floral, verdant, unoaked offering from a fine white burgundy vintage, is suitable for vegetarians, and its gentle, green-bean style will go down well with creamy chicken or salmon dishes.

 

2005 Château Bonnet, Entre deux Mers, André Lurton, France, Sainsbury’s, £5.99.

This large 243-hectare estate nonetheless manages to produce some tasty whites, and this unoaked 70 per cent sauvignon blanc, with a dollop of semillon and a dash of muscadelle, is one. Its ripe, floral, musky, greengage-charged style, with a lively, steely finish, is typical of this area’s best whites, but a world away from the sweet, flabby entre deux mers offerings of yesteryear.

 

2004 Chablis, La Maladière, William Fèvre, France, Majestic, £9.99, or buy two for £7.99 each until June 15.

There were a fair few chablis up for this section, but this distinguished 2005 was the only one that impressed me. Its ripe, appley, leafy, scented, sparky style lifted it above its competitors, so race round to Majestic to grab your share. Chablis’ bone-dry, flinty, acidic style is not to everyone’s taste, but works wonderfully well with seafood.

 

2005 Château Beaumont les Pierrières, Premières Côtes de Blaye Blanc, Bordeaux, France, Lea & Sandeman (020-7244 0522), £6.95, special price for Times readers throughout June.

Proof that the 2005 bordeaux vintage was as good for whites as it was for reds is this immaculate right-bank Blaye blanc. With just a few months fermenting in oak, its fat, spicy, oaky scent is underpinned by lots of smoky, steely, food-suitable greengage fruit.

 

2005 Gros Manseng, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne, Alain Brumont, France, Les Caves de Pyrène (01483 554750), £5.64 (mixed cases only).

Unblended gros manseng is not a grape, or wine, that pops up every day, but I loved this unusual, exotic, spicy, floral, almost crystallised pineapple-layered 100 per cent gros manseng. Tame it by serving it with suitable summer dishes and highly spiced Thai green curries.

 

2005 G, Vigna Senza Nome, Moscato d’Asti di Giacomo Bologna, Italy, Tanners (01743 234455), £7.95.

Every summer wine bin could do with a softly sweet, gently alcoholic (5.5 per cent in this case), slightly fizzy white to sip well-chilled with summer berries, or to splash over a bowl of strawberries. My choice this year is this delightful, fragrant, sweet, musky, grapey, elderflower-scented G, that, well-chilled, also works well as a summer garden cooler.

 

2005 Montes Leyda Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Limited Selection, Chile, Majestic, £7.99, or buy two for £6.39 each.

I have had a love-hate relationship with Montes sauvignons, as their larger-than-life character can be overwhelming. Yet since Montes have gone to the much cooler Leyda Valley for their limited-edition sauvignon blanc grapes, a much less aggressive style is the result. The 2005 oozes with intense, rich, green, peapod-charged pizzazz.

 

STAR WHITE: 2003 Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett, von Kesselstatt, Germany, selected Co-op (0800 0686727 for your nearest stockist), £7.99; jeroboams (020-7730 8108), £7.99 throughout June.

Riesling haters need to overcome their prejudices and see what a grand riesling is all about, and this is ideal. At just 9 per cent alcohol, this wonderful mosel has oodles of fine, minerally, marzipan, apple and lime-honey finesse – a brilliant summer aperitif.

 

PINK

 

 

2005 Martius Monsant, Rosat Agricola Falset Marca, Spain, Bibendum (020-7449 4120), £6.58.

This punchy 14 per cent alcohol rosé outperformed all the other pinks in this section. What you get with this cheery deep cherry-pink rosé, made predominantly from old vine garnacha, with syrah and cinsault, is plenty of strong, spicy, herb-laden fruit with a fine verdant finish. An ideal pink for spicy summer fare.

 

FORTIFIED

 

 

Solera Jerezana Reserva Manzanilla, Waitrose, down £1 to £5.99 until tomorrow.

The best bone-dry and full-flavoured manzanillas weigh in at 17 per cent alcohol and above, like this one, not the wishy-washy 15 per cent the big brands have now sunk to. What you get with this pungent floral, salty, iodine-scented manzanilla is lots of ripe, beefy, full-bodied finesse that cries out for a bowl of anchovy-stuffed olives and toasted almonds.

 

REDS

 

2004 Lirac, Roc-Epine, Domaine Lafond, Jean-Pierre and Pascal Lafond, France, Montrachet (020-7928 1990), £7.99.