Top 10 wines in the UK press

Matthew Jukes picks out a wine that he says “will vie for white wine of the year come December” and David Williams makes recommendations for starting a wine cellar.

Writing in The Observer, David Williams says that you “don’t have to be loaded” to start a cellar.

He added: “Cellaring a few bottles needn’t be the preserve of the grand and loaded. All you need is a dark place where the temperature is consistent – light and fluctuations in temperature are the biggest enemies of ageing wine.

“Provided it’s away from a radiator, a cupboard under the stairs, a space under the bed, even an old fridge in the garage set to a high setting will do just fine to begin with. I keep my few dozen special bottles stacked on a cool stone floor beneath a dresser in my draughty old house. I’ve even got a thermometer down there.”

In the Daily Mail Jukes picked out a white from Australia’s Clare Valley, writing that he is “convinced that 2012 is the finest vintage in Clare in a decade.

Click through the following pages to find out which wines Williams recommends for cellaring and which Clare Valley white wine Jukes is so impressed with, as well as other wines recommended in the UK press over the last week.

Brouilly Les Eronnes, Romain Jambon 2010

In The Independent, Terry Kirby recommends this as a “Sunday lunch” wine, he wrote: “Made from Gamay grapes from the wonderful Beaujolais-Villages, this is actually closer to a Burgundian style. Smoothly elusive, elegant, structured, medium-bodied, it is packed with cherry fruits, has a slight touch of spice and is fresh on the palate.

“A lovely wine to serve on a day with a hint of spring in the air when there is a herby roast chicken on the table.”

Château Laville Bertrou 2010 Minervois-la-Livinière, Gerard Bertrand

This red was picked as “wine of the week” by Olly Smith in the Mail on Sunday. He described it as being “deep juicy sleek and rich with astounding concentration and depth.”

2010 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula

Every week Jane McQuitty, writing in The Times, recommends a variety of wines, including one that she calls “a keeper”. This is her keeper for this week, she wrote: “Tom Carson is one of Australia’s most talented and knowledgeable winemakers and having worked at Yabby Lake from its foundation in 1998 he views ‘the cracking’ 2010 as a watershed vintage. I adored its taut, hazelnut oak and sweet, smoky, nutty, polished fruit. One of the finest Victorian Chardonnays I have tasted in years; great now but richer, toastier ambrosia in five years’ time. More of the same please Mr Carson.”

2010 Hilltops Semillon Chalkers Crossing

Rose Murray Brown picks out this wine, she wrote in The Scotsman: “A barrel-fermented Semillon from a cooler part of New South Wales (so different in style to Hunter Valley versions) delivering light lime and grapefruit acidity that sits atop toasty lees-derived substance.”

2012 Blind Spot, Riesling, Clare Valley

This is the wine that Matthew Jukes wrote in the Daily Mail, “will vie for white wine of the year come December”. He added: “The Blind Spot series is made by the highly talented Mac Forbes and the value for money afforded by this range is exceptional. My pick is this staggering beautiful, bone dry Riesling and I am convinced that 2012 is the finest vintage in Clare in a decade.”

2011 Kloof Street Rouge, Mullineux Wines

Jukes also recommends this wine, about which he wrote: “Mullineux was my top South African estate of last year and this is the newly released, forward drinking red from this incredibly talented husband and wife team. Pepper, blackberries, plums and liquorice – this wine has masses of impact on the palate and it trumps any Côtes-du-Rhône you can think of.”

Castello di Potentino Piropo IGT Toscana

This is the first of the wines for a cellar, recommended by David Williams in The Observer, and he labelled it the “best buy”.

He wrote: “An unusual blend of Pinot Noir with the Chianti grape variety Sangiovese and a little of the unheralded Alicante from a British expat winemaker, this beautiful Tuscan red is alive with cherry fruit and fresh herbs now, but it could mellow and soften still more over the next half a decade.

Château Poujeaux, Moulis-en-Médoc 2009

Another Williams pick for a cellar, he wrote: “The staple of the classic cellar and the serious collector, red Bordeaux is re-mortgage pricey at the very top end. Look beyond the bigger cru classé names, however, and plus it can be affordable if not cheap, and Poujeaux’s lushly fruited 2009 will keep for more than a decade.”

Les Pierres Bordes Marsanne-Viognier 2012

Victoria Moore wrote in the Daily Telegraph that “there are many things to like about this white”.

She added: “First, it is made in the south of France with the Rhône grapes Marsanne and Viognier and has a lovely, ample feel, like nectar from clover, almond blossom or apricots.

“Secondly, I overheard a supermarket buyer tasting this wine and going nuts about the fact that they couldn’t get anything so good on the shelf for so little. Thirdly, it tastes warmly summery, like golden sunshine.”

Castelnau de Suduirant 2009, Sauternes

In the Sunday Telegraph, Susy Atkins wrote about why she loves “buying wine in half bottles”. She said: “It’s good for food matching to open different wines with different dishes or courses, and half-bottle measures (in restaurants or at home) aid that. Also, you open something fresh more often, rather than keeping an increasingly jaded, bigger bottle on the go. Halves are more portable, so ideal for picnics or travelling. Oh, and they make neat gifts.”

Atkins recommends trying this sweet wine, writing: “Majestic has a decent sweet wine range in halves, and with its candied citrus peel and luscious yellow plum, this will give up to four people a treat with dessert.”