From 1998 Chardonnay Reserve La Strada, Marlborough, New ZealandZ £18.95
Particularly delicious current drinking with elements of butterscotch although is actually more Burgundian in style than almost any other New Zealand Chardonnay I have tasted, with the exception of Kumeu River whose 1999 will be well worth chasing up when it arrives at Boxford Wine Co of Suffolk or Farr Vintners of London SW1 (www.farr-vintners.com).
Reynolds 1998 Chardonnay, Orange, New South Wales £8.55
Reynolds has a great record for white wines (the 1992 Hunter Valley Semillon is still growing old gracefully). This comes from Reynolds' new outpost in the new, cool, high Orange district. Very refined.
Verdicchio dei Castello di Jesi Classico 1999, Lucio Canestrari £7.50
This talented producer has managed to stuff far more intriguing underpinning into this lively, marine-scented white than one has reason to expect for the money.
Volnay Premier Cru 1998 Les Pitures £18.70
This charming wine has no trace of that vintage's hard tannins and could already be enjoyed.
Jean Grivot's Chambolle Musigny 1997 La Combe d'Orvaux £25.95
Much more powerful and arresting than the Potel Volnay. This would cut quite a dash on the Christmas dinner table.
Echezeaux 1997 Mugneret-Gibourg £37.85
Great value for Grand Cru seekers, a gently layered wine that should improve for at least five years and possible eight. But it is not massive...
A new white burgundy exclusively from Adnams of Southwold:
Mâcon-Chardonnay Cuvée Paul Talmard 1999 £6.50
The best value of their new own label bottlings from the same prodigious supplier as the wine below.
Justerini & Brooks of London SW1's most popular wine:
Mâcon-Uchizy 1999 Talmard £6.90
Delightfully rich and satisfying.
Good value white burgundy:
Note that the 1999 whites of the Mâconnais with names such as Mâcon, St Véran, Pouilly-This-and-That (but not Fumé) and the new Viré-Clessé appellation are generally very good value, for winemaking skills here are keen and the wines are much more approachable young than smarter white burgundy. Verget, the prolific and widely available negociant label, is on a roll.
An on-line rarity from Oz:
Craiglee Shiraz 1988 £27.95 from www.wineplanet.co.uk
Most unusual: a subtle Australian that has been expressing its terroir in one of Victoria's cooler climes for years now. The Australia-based Wineplanet can offer three different vintages of this gem and the 1988 is absolutely fascinating. Like a good Priorat, it really does seem to taste of minerals (this particular Shiraz is not at all Barossa-like; richness is not its dominant characteristic) but it is also wonderfully subtle and harmonious. Some of Wineplanet's prices are on the high side but £27.95 seems perfectly reasonable for such an interesting, mature wine. Wineplanet charges a flat fee of £4.99 for a UK delivery of any size if its total worth is less than £75.
From Waitrose, the wine lover's supermarket:
(Waitrose Wine Direct mail order operation is on 0800 188881)
Seigneurs d'Aiguilhe 1998 £7.49
Extremely pleasing with its fine oak, lively fruit and impressive length of flavour, until one remembers that this is the second wine of the emerging star of the Côtes de Castillon, Ch d'Aiguilhe (under the same management as Ch Canon La Gaffelière and La Mondotte). The galling thing is that Ch d'Aiguilhe itself was selling for this sort of price only a blink ago – but even this second wine is extremely convincing.
Rosemount Hill of Gold Mudgee Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 £9.99
A very different but delicious rendition of Bordeaux grapes comes in Rosemount's recently released from a refurbished property they call Hill of Gold, much to the dismay of the Henschke family of Hill of Grace fame. The wine is full throttle Australian Cabernet but its toasty oak and acid are part of the whole rather than bolt-ons.
Dominio de Valdepusa Syrah 1997 £10.99
From Marques de Griñon's groundbreaking estate near Toledo which is to have its very own appellation. This particularly successful vintage is very definitely Syrah and very definitely warm and Spanish; an intriguing combination capable of winning hearts this winter. Pure pleasure.
L'Enclos Domeque Marsanne/Rousanne 1999 £4.99
A bargain Rhôneish white from the Languedoc. This has much more real fruit and depth, as well as a convincingly spicy perfume, than one expects at this price.
Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc 2000 Constantia, South Africa £7.49
The best vintage of this relatively cool climate Sauvignon yet, from a well funded development within a spit of Table Mountain. Of interest to lovers of NZ Sauvignon.
Best buys from Oddbins:
Glen Carlou Chardonnay 1999 Paarl South Africa £7.99
Highly sought after in South Africa, it is as cheap as this just because of the poor old rand. Very fine-boned and lemon-scented.
Yonder Hill Merlot 1998 £8.99
Another producer much admired in its homeland. Gentle, sweet-scented.
Landmark Overlook Chardonnay 1998 £14.49
Despite the price it is one of California's few Chardonnay bargains. The luscious but not overblown blend of fruit from Sonoma and the Central Coast that makes up the blend is well worth £14.49 to my palate.
Sean Thackrey Pleiades IV Old Vines £15.99 (from larger Oddbins)
Wild and wonderful, not to say extraordinary multi-vintage Rhôney blend. Something to sip, savour and marvel at.
Inferi Montelpulciano d'Abruzzo 1996 Marramiero £10.49
From a new estate which is challenging Valentini's supremacy in the Abruzzi in southern Italy. This is both incontrovertibly noble and ready to drink – a rare combination to find on a shelf nowadays. This heady, deep-flavoured wine is almost soft but has many, many layers of subtlety to it.
Riolite's Scaranto Rosso 1998 £6.49
From the little-known Colli Euganei (near Padua), a claret-like blend that is ready to enjoy now.
Gaia Estate Red 1998 £10.99
Very grown-up wine for the money. Serious stuff of interest to any connoisseur.
Elderton 1997 Barossa Shiraz £12.99 (also at Berrys)
Very well made by one of the Barossa Valley's most accomplished practitioners, although the wine below is better value.
Penny's Hill 1998 McLaren Vale Shiraz £9.99
Pliable and pleasing.
Ricardo Santos Maipu 1999 Malbec £7.99
Single-vineyard red that is rich and chocolatey and delivers considerable power.
Majestic Wine Warehouses' best:
Vocoret's old vine 1999 Chablis Vaillons £9.99 (£9.49 if two are bought)
Extremely correct wine that could be drunk but should be kept, for up to 10 years! (Many people don't realise quite how long these high-acid, northern white burgundies age.)
Bott Geyl's 1998 Gewurztraminer Schloesselreben £11.99
Another very fine white wine – worthy of any smart dinner party and delicious with smoked salmon. Definitely rich but beautifully balanced.
Mas Collet 1998 £5.99 (£4.79 if six bottles are bought)
Mineral-laden red from the Capçanes co-op in Tarragona just outside modish Priorat.
Costers del Gravet 1998 £8.99 (and at Oddbins too)
This is the smoother, drawing room version of Mas Collet with more Cabernet influence. A whiff of the Medoc!
Bouchard Père et Fils' Chorey-les-Beaune 1997 £7.99
Looks like a great bargain to me, and great drinking with the Christmas turkey. Elegant and very correct.
Faugères Abbaye de Sylva Plana 1999 £6.49
Not simple and sweet but extremely charming and long. This could be drunk any time over the next two years and should win all sorts of friends. Stunningly supple.
Moulin de La Lagune 1998 Haut-Médoc £9.99
Remarkably refined for a second wine (of Ch La Lagune).
Ch Gontey 1998 St Emilion Grand Cru £12.99
For those who require power of even their claret, this wine certainly delivers oomph in spades.
Safeway Sauvignon:
Neil Ellis Sauvignon Blanc 2000 Groenekloof, South Africa £7.99
Slightly soft and smokey but a new South African classic.
Spice from Tesco (and Bibendum of London NW1):
Lawsons Dry Hills Gewurztraminer, New Zealand £6.99
Accomplished, crisp and lively version of the spicy grape (although Knappstein's 2000 Clare Valley Gewurz is better still.)
Sainsburys stuff of most interest:
Yonder Hill Inanda 1997 £7.99
Bordeaux blend without the marked acidity that can dog many a South African red.
Also, the Vergelegen range which is really much smarter than supermarket level.
And two growers' champagnes at £14.99 a piece – one from Côte des Blancs and the other from Montagne de Reims. The one they bought from the Vallée de la Marne to make up the set is not so pleasing but these two have lots of personality and illustrate well the difference between these two subregions of Champagne. Only problem is that they are available in literally only two stores – Cromwell Road, London and Richmond, Surrey. Most traditional merchants can offer more than two outlets!