WHITE WINE RECOMMENDATIONS

Picpoul De Pinet Domaine Delsol, Languedoc 2022 £12.50

A delicious, single estate example of this fashionable Languedoc white. It combines the lovely ripe fruit of the South with a fresh acidity normally associated with more northerly wines and is great with food or drunk on its own.  RKL

Muscadet Vieilles Vignes, 'Fief Du Retail', Gobin Freres, Loire Valley 2021 £14.50

Christophe and Cedric Gobin's Vieilles Vignes is from 40-100 year old vines on an outcrop of 'gabbro', a basalt-like rock, known for giving richness.  Ageing on the lees for a few months adds texture and slightly smoky, savoury notes to compliment the green-apple fruits. Bone-dry, it works brilliantly with fish and salads, a wonderful all-rounder.  RKL

Gavi di Tassorolo 'La Fornace', Bergaglio, Piemonte 2022 £14.50

Made by a family-owned winery with 7 hectares in the Commune di Tassarolo, within the DOCG area of Gavi. La Fornace is made from 100% Cortese, slow-fermented with selected yeast in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. Fresh, floral and elegant, with the classic Gavi notes of almond and apple on the palate. RKL

Macon-Villages, Domaine Sève 2020 £16.50

A "baby Pouilly-Fuissé",  from a small family grower, famous for their single-vineyards Pouilly-Fuissés.  The domaine is right at the foot of the famous Solutré Crags, in the most picturesque location imaginable, at the heart of the region.   This is among the best Macon-Villages we have ever tasted, with very low influence from oak and pure scents of white flowers and apple on the nose.  The palate has flavours and textures of Pink Fir Apple and peach, with some citrus and plenty of balancing acidity, all beautifully delineated.  RKL

Soave Classico, Pieropan 2021 £17.20

From the most famous producer in Soave, Pieropan's Classico is from volcanic soils in the heart of the region, offering intense, fresh green fruits and minerality, with fresh acidity and complex textures on the palate.   RKL

Albarino, Terras Gauda, San Campio, Rias Baixas, Galicia, Spain 2021 £18.00

Very intense, showing grapefruit-citrus on the nose and palate and a saline character which would make it perfect with Aldeburgh crab and other seafoods.  RKL

Pinot Blanc Auxerrois, Albert Mann, Alsace, France 2022 £22.95

A blend of Pinot Blanc with the distinctive Alsace variety Auxerrois. The nose is exceptionally fresh, with notes of acacia, pear and some minerality.  The weight on the palate suggests an unoaked chardonnay-style white, but this has a character all of its own.  One our favourites on the list!  RKL

Bouzeron 'Les Bouchines' Aligoté Château de Chamilly 2020 £19.50

Bright citrus fruit, lemon…yellow apples, green pea shoots.  Full, ripe citrus and apple on the palate, excellent acidity, slight glycerin texture lending body and mouthfeel, with a twist of sour-lemon and even some orange on the finish.  Possibly a more successful match for fish and shellfish even than Chamilly’s Montagny’s!  12.5% abv.  RKL

Dönnhoff Riesling QBA Trocken (Dry), Nahe, Germany 2022 £19.50

Helmut Dönnhoff is one of Germany's most famous and respected winemakers.  His 20 hectare estate in the Nahe produces some of the world's finest examples of riesling.  From the volcanic soils of the Felsenburg vineyard.  11.5% abv.  RKL

Bourgogne Blanc 'Clos Carbonade' Domaine Borgeot 2021 £21.50

Clos de la Carbonnade is from single vineyard in Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise.  Old vines and the terroir of Bouzeron lend this wine a seriousness and freshness that takes it way above its appellation of Bourgogne Blanc.  The vines are at the highest point of Bouzeron, at 300m, on clay soils.  A nose of white flowers with aromas of pear and juniper berries. The freshness brings balance. Taut, it combines both fruit and mineral finesse and concentration.  RKL

2021 Chablis, Domaine Jean Collet £22.00

Collet is one of the most established domaines Chablis, but the quality of the wines has improved drastically since Romain Collet took over.  His wines are the epitome of the classic, flinty style that used to be easier to find.  Romain's Chablis Village is great value, competing with some top domaines in quality. RKL

Montagny 'Les Reculerons', Château de Chamilly 2020 £22.50

Beautifully floral and delicate, with clear gun-flint aromas and some peach fruit opening out after a few moments in glass…then the smoky (reductive) notes reassert themselves on the finish, in tandem with the fruit…very harmonious at the end.  Really refined for this level.  13% abv.  RKL

Albert Mann Riesling, Alsace 2022 £24.95

Albert Mann bas been run since 1984 by Jacky and Maurice Barthelmé.  Maurice is married to Marie-Claire, granddaughter of the late Albert Mann.  Organically-run, the domaine owns 19 hectares, including vines in the Grands Crus Hengst and Steingrubler.  Via a friendship with Domaine Paul Blanck they also produce wines from the Kientzheim, Furstentum and Schlossberg vineyards.   The Riesling comes from vineyards situated near the domaine in Wettolsheim.  It has citrus fruit, red apple and pear on the nose and palate, which is concentrated, intense and mineral.  RKL

Kumeu River Ray's Road Chardonay, Hawke's Bay 2021 £24.80

The preceding two vintages of Ray's Road were excellent, but needed time to develop and flesh out their rather austere structure.  2021 is a very different beast, the quality is both immediate and accessible in the glass, with green fruits and and limes on the nose and palate.  A ringer for white burgundy!  This is now the great bargain of Kumeu's range.  RKL 

Pouilly-Fumé Château de Tracy, Loire, 2022 £29.50

Classic Pouilly-Fumé from a château owned by the same family since 1396!  Consistently a benchmark wine of the region with excellent acidity in this vintage.  RKL

Soave 'La Rocca', Pieropan 2020 £32.50

"Very ripe Soave here with aromas of dried pineapple, honeycomb, pecan pie, light toffee and a wealth of fresh and dried flowers flitting around the edges. Medium-to full-bodied with a lovely, long palate of fruit syrup and caramel. Seamless, tasty and long. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.  94 points."  Jamessuckling.com (JS),  Jul 2021

Auxey-Duresses, Domaine Jean Pascal 2021 £33.50

From a small family domaine in the heart of Puligny-Montrachet (Alexandra Pascal is in fact the mayor of the village!).  Intense orchard and stone fruits on the nose balanced by pronounced new oak aromas, giving an impression of classic white burgundy.  A very complete wine, delivers a huge amount of flavour and structure, great value.  RKL

Santenay Blanc ' Les Gravières' 1er Cru Domaine Michelot 2020 £42.50

One of the most respected domaines in Meursault, Michelot make beautifully saline and mineral white wines in a modern, terroir-driven style. This delicious premier cru Santenay is equal to many Meursaults from other domaines.  RKL

Pouilly-Fuissé 'Les Perrieres' 1er Cru, Domaine J.A. Ferret 2021 £45.00

From one of the most respected estates in the region, founded in the 19th century, but owned since 2007 by Jadot.  Les Perrieres is one of the single vineyards newly-elevated to 1er Cru status and has a limestone terroir which gives a focused, linear style to the palate.  RKL

Meursault 'Clos St Felix', Domaine Michelot 2020 £60.00

"A touch of lemon in the colour while the bouquet is a mite sterner than the blended Meursault. This has good mid palate weight, riper citrus notes, slight bitterness behind, the terroir talking, clay and gravels, drains well. Very interesting. Tasted: 10/1/2021. 90-92 points" Jasper Morris, insideburgundy.com

Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Borgeot, 2021 £ 60.00
"Well-integrated matchstick reduction with vivid green-apple fruit and a smoky, toasty finish.  Stylish and generous with a long, pithy persistence. Should age well. Drink 2020 – 2030."  jancisrobinson.com (RH)

Puligny-Montrachet 'Les Enseignères', Domaine Jean Pascal 2021 £ 65.00
‘Les Enseignères is a single-vineyard, a lieu-dit but not a premier cru. Pithy, ‘cisele’ and with abundant orchard fruit, red apple and peach, very much in JP style, with the focused, precise style we associate with wines from this domaine. Excellent continuation on palate. As ever with 18s, not a hint of anything overipe or hot. V good. RKL

Chassagne-Montrachet 'Les Morgeots Petit Clos' 1er Cru, Domaine Bachey Legros 2021 £65.00

Vines planted in 1950-51.  'Morgeot' is a very large premier cru and contains several other smaller premiers crus, of which 'Les Petits Clos' is one.  Morgeot wines are often blended from parcels across the vineyard, but this is from a single plot of 2 hectares, on white clay and limestone.  White fruits on the nose, some peach, smoky citrus, more stone fruits and ginger on the palate.  Excellent length.  As per the previous vintage, there is something instantly likeable about this wine, all of its complex layers are immediately accessible.   RKL