Top 10 wines in the UK press

We look at the top 10 wines mentioned in the UK press over the weekend.

Olly Smith tells his readers in the Mail on Sunday that “anyone can taste wine. The most important rule is: if you enjoy it, drink it.”

Susy Atkins in the Sunday Telegraph helps out the lovers of “full-bodied, rich white wines” who are bored with Chardonnay: “What else is there – alongside the crisper, lighter Sauvignons, Pinot Grigios and Rieslings – that tastes ripe, juicy and packed with sunny fruit flavours? The answer is Viognier.”

Meanwhile, Anthony Rose in The Independent says that, “Europe has been slow in communicating the screwcap’s ability to bring freshness and freedom from cork taint and random oxidation, nowhere more so than Italy.”

Xanadu Chardonnay 2011 (£16.99 M&S)

Olly Smith in the Mail on Sunday recommends this “excellent” Australian Chardonnay.

Viñalba Malbec Syrah 2010 (£5.48 Asda)

Smith suggests this to test out one of his wine tasting tips: “If you swirl your glass, have a look at the tears (or ‘legs’) creeping down the glass – wines that are higher in alcohol tend to have the most legs.”

M Chapoutier Gigondas 2007 (£16.79 Tesco) 

Smith says that: “Higher quality wines tend to last longer on the palate, pumping out extra flavour for free” like this “superbly complex” example.

Laurent Miquel Vendanges Nocturnes Viognier 2011 (£8.06 Waitrose)

Susy Atkins in the Sunday Telegraph enjoys this “hugely juicy, exuberantly scented white with plump apricot fruit and a full texture.”

Jean-Claude Mas St Gabriel Vineyard Viognier 2009/11 (£8.49 Co-op)

Atkins recommends this “mellow, lightly perfumed” wine “with peach and tangerine, and dry on the finish”.

Alamos Mendoza Viognier 2011 (£6.49 x2 Majestic)

Atkins also highlights this Viognier with “a spicy note of fresh ginger, over rich yellow plums and squashy dried apricots”.

Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde, Portugal 2011 (£4.99 x2 Majestic)

David Williams in The Observer owns up about this wine: “This always brilliant – in both senses of the word – light white, with its scintillating freshness and verve, is one of the few wines I return to, and, at this offer price, I’ll no doubt be doing so again.”

Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling, Great Southern, Western Australia 2011 (£8 Tesco)

Williams enjoys “the little cushion of sugar and the generous squeeze of lime that gives this classy Riesling its invigorating tang.”

Livio Felluga Pinot Grigio DOC Colli Orientali 2011 (£24.95 Lea & Sandeman)

Anthony Rose in The Independent says embracing the screwcap has taken this wine “to a new level of exotic nectarine and pineapple fruitiness.”

Isole e Olena Cepparello IGT Toscana 2008 (£58.99 Liberty Wines)

Rose praises another screwcap-closed wine as “the quintessence of Sangiovese, a flawlessly silky red of mulberry-fruit quality laced with liquorice-spicy undertones and savoury freshness.”