Cool, crisp & delicious: White wines for warm days

Round & About magazine’s resident wine columnist, Giles Luckett, recommends the best white wines for the summer.

Summer’s here and you know what that means: a hosepipe ban and an England cricket defeat. To wet your whistle and take away the taste of disappointment, here are five wines to make your summer sizzle.

First up, the Lusco Albariño (Oxford Wine Company £19.25). Made in Albariño’s spiritual home of Rías Baixas in northwest Spain, this wonderful wine offers refreshing complexity. On the nose, there are zingy notes of grapefruit, lemon, lime and dusty minerals. In the mouth, it begins with a burst of freshness before weightier tones of dried pears, peach stones and honey; it’s the perfect alfresco aperitif.

I’ll stay in Spain for my next recommendation, the Juan Gil Vino Ecologico (NY Wines £14.25). Made from organic Moscatel (Muscat) grapes, this is big on fragrance and fruit. Aromas of honeysuckle, rose petals, dried apricots, and oranges leap from the glass. Exotically flamboyant, this fruit cocktail of a wine gushes with grape, mandarin, lychee and lemon, which are lifted by the intoxicating Moscatel fragrance.  

The French know a thing or two about wine, or so they’d have me believe. The Le Capitaine Vouvray Les Perrieres (Perfect Cellar £22.46) certainly suggests they do.  Made from Chenin Blanc, this is an unusual, stylish wine that would pair well with everything from fish to spiced poultry. The nose offers stone fruits, baked lemons and wet wool. Generous and rounded, the melon, peach, pear and white currant flavours are hedged by floral and chalk notes. Lovely now, this has time on its side.

The Loire Valley is home to some of the world’s greatest whites.  Wines like Sancerre, Vouvray, and Pouilly-Fumé are sublime wines that are rightly prized. Look a little farther afield, and you’ll come across other exciting whites such as the Joseph Mellot Touraine Chenonceaux Les Eclats de Silex (Roberts & Speight £19.99).  Mellot is my favourite Sancerre producer. Their wines combine the complexity and intensity of cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc with the unique clay/limestone/flint soils of the region. This Touraine is produced on flinty soils and is a marriage of fruit and minerals. The bouquet offers green grapes, citrus, leafy blackcurrant and flint smoke. The palate is lean, dry, refined and polished. Mouthwatering green berries overlay a textured, dusty structure, making for a pure, fresh-tasting wine that’s crying out for roasted goats’ cheese, crab, monkfish or roast pork. 

The Rhône Valley is best known for its red wines; its whites, except for things like Hermitage Blanc and Condrieu, tend to be overlooked. This is a shame as they can be fantastic. Take the Château de Gourdon Fontaine du Sud Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2024 (Perfect Cellar £21.56). This blend of Viognier, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, and Roussanne (they do so love a mad mix in the Rhône) is a joy. Big-hearted and bold, stone fruits, honey, almonds, herbs, mint, and pepper tones swirl around this generous offering. The gorgeous, rounded texture adds greater emphasis, but there’s enough acidity to keep it clean and focused. Enjoy this on its own or with roasted white meats.

Argentina is best known for its mighty Malbecs, but its whites can be world-class too. Take the Zuccardi Q Chardonnay (Tesco £16.50). Golden, with mesmerising aromas of peaches, apples, honey, citrus and vanilla, it’s a bold introduction to a bold wine.  Succulent and mouthfilling, there’s plenty of spicy oak here, but the opulent fruit can take it, so the baked apple, melon, and kiwi fruits are enhanced rather than overcome. Throw in Zuccardi’s signature energy and intense minerality, and you have a wine that’s gentle enough to enjoy on its own while pairing well with poultry, white fish and seafood.

England’s still wines have become the toast of the tasting table.  Wines once thought of as impossible, such as varietal Chardonnay, are now delighting critics. The Simpsons ‘The Roman Road’ (Simpsons Wine Estate, £32) is the best I’ve tasted. Mid-gold, with glorious aromas of autumnal fruits, baked bread, and honeysuckle, the palate is equally arresting. An elegant, high-toned mix of lemon-drizzled pineapple, juicy white peach and a creamy hazelnut paste undercurrent.  The texture is luxurious and adds to the classy impression.  Bravo.

Australia offers an embarrassment of white wine riches, many of which offer exceptional value for money. Two that have grabbed my attention recently are the Folklore Sauvignon/Semillon (Tesco £10) and the Bélena Pinot Grigio (ASDA £15).

These wines couldn’t be more different. Well, obviously, they could, one could be red, sparkling and come with a free copy of the Sydney Morning Herald, but they do highlight the diversity in Australian winemaking.

The Folklore is so pale it looks like it’s been given a fright.  The nose is alive with clean, crisp, green and yellow citrus, grapes, peaches, grass and nettles.  Surprisingly elegant and precise, the fruit is controlled and taut with zingy grapefruit, rhubarb, and gooseberry, setting the scene.  Nicely textured, with crunchy minerals interwoven into the medium body, it’s quite intense, firm and classy.  This is a great buy and would be the perfect partner to peppery salads, pâte, grilled fish, or shellfish.

The Bélena is much more open and forward.  Exotic fruits, lychees, sharon fruit, kiwi, gently rise from the glass, attended by red pear, lemon and white pepper.  These are all present on the juicy palate in a sedate, graceful fashion. Easy going, there’s sufficient concentration and depth to make this interesting but not overwhelming. I tasted this on its own, and it was lovely, but with smoked salmon, salty canapés, or barbecued stuffed peppers, it would be even better.

I’ll finish with something completely different, the Tenuta Stella Collio Friulano (The Wine Factor £19.99). This is an extraordinary wine. I was expecting a pale, floral, light wine that would be pleasingly simple, but hardly profound. How wrong I was. Amber coloured with emerald highlights, aromas of honey, chamomile, banana and grapefruit rose from the glass. Full-bodied, multi-layered and dazzlingly complex, it took me three or four sips to get the measure of this. Stone fruits, mint, barley, and white chocolate, with a dry, firm, herb-tinted finish, this is a serious wine that I found paired wonderfully with mushroom tortellini. This is a winery I shall be revisiting later in the year.

Well, here’s to a summer of sensational sipping.

Cheers!

Giles

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