Top 10 wines in the UK press

Summer wines are firmly on the agenda for UK wine writers with David Williams and Terry Kirby selecting their favourites for the season and Matthew Jukes recommends a “brilliant all-purpose, summery red wine”.

Writing in The Observer, David Williams picked out “20 great wines for summer”, these included a “star buy” for red, white, rosé and sparkling wine.

In The Independent, Terry Kirby also picks out his favourite wines for the summer, writing that “the summer celebration drink should now be an English sparkling wine.”

And Matthew Jukes recommended “five seriously high quality wines” to his readers in the Daily Mail.

Click through the following pages to find out more about these and other wines recommended in the UK press over the last week.

Pizarras de Otero 2011

Fiona Beckett, recommended a number of “light red wines for summer” to her readers in The Guardian. She wrote of this wine: “Spain is best known for aged reds such as Rioja, but try switching to Mencia from Bierzo in the north-west.”

She added that this wine “would make great barbecue drinking. No, that one’s not so low in alcohol, but it tastes really fresh and fruity, especially if you chill it.”

Taste the Difference Beaujolais-Villages 2010

Susy Atkins in the Sunday Telegraph described this wine as “an affordable, accessible introduction to decent Beaujolais with the exuberant, tangy red-berry fruit typical of Gamay.”

She added: “Light, fresh and fab with chicken-liver pâté or cold beef.”

Diana Madeline Cullen 2010

In the Daily Telegraph Victoria Moore recommended three Australian wines, writing: “Oh, the perfume on this. It’s beautiful, and there’s an arresting intensity.”

She added: “Margaret River, on Australia’s west coast, excels at Bordeaux-style blends while producing wines that taste nothing like Bordeaux; this is based on Cabernet Sauvignon, with a chunk of Merlot and bits of Malbec and Cabernet Franc adding a scented, leafy complexity. Already tasting good, and it will only improve for a couple of decades.”

Tesco Finest Cotes Catalanes Carignan

Olly Smith, writing in the Mail on Sunday, picked this as his “wine of the week”, calling it a “genius red”.

He added: “It has a wondrous perfume and full-fruit flavour, like a pun net of wild black fruit has been crushed in your glass. Stunning value.”

The Society’s Saar Riesling

In making his recommendations for the ideal wines for summer, David Williams in The Observer picked out a star buy for red, white, rosé and sparkling wine.

This is his star white buy, he wrote: “This German Riesling from vineyards around the Saar tributary of the Mosel was made for wasting (but not wasted) afternoons in the garden. Low in alcohol (11%) but high in flavour, strong in acidity but soft as a ripe peach.”

Domaine Pieretti Rosé Coteaux du Cap Corse

And this wine from Corsica, was Williams’ pick as star red wine buy for summer.

He wrote: “A dry rosé with personality that blends the local speciality, Nielluccio, with the more widely grown Syrah and Alicante to produce vivid red cherry flavours with whispers of thyme, minerals and spice. Crisp and zesty, it’s perfect with herb-encrusted salami.”

Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2008

Terry Kirby, writing in The Independent, picked out this as one of his recommendations for a wine for summer.

He wrote: “The summer celebration drink should now be an English sparkling wine, since their flavours embody sunshine and countryside, with subtle hints of meadows and wildflowers.

“Made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, this recent award-winner from Kent has become complex and savoury from ageing.”

2011 The Crusher, Wilson Vineyard, Pinot Noir

This is the wine recommended by Matthew Jukes in the Daily Mail, who described it as a “brilliant all-purpose, summery red wine.”

Jukes added: “It is nigh on impossible to find inexpensive Californian pinot noir that tastes delicious and this wine, a new one to me, ticks all of the boxes. Velvety textured, with juicy cherry and blackberry fruit.”

Janisson Baradon, Non Dosé Champagne

This week Jane MacQuitty, in The Times, recommends this wine as a “keeper”.

She wrote: “Non Dosé, or no dosage, champagne, without that flavour-enriching dollop of sugar, is the most unforgiving of all sparkling wine styles and hard to pull off with aplomb. Janisson Baradon, made from a 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, has succeeded effortlessly with this bone-dry yet elegant, steely, floral, grapey, citrusy fizz.”

She added: “Expect to hear a lot more from Janisson Baradon, a name that’s new to Berry Bros & Rudd. Anyone hunting for a summery champagne that is drinking gorgeously now, but can be tucked away until 2016 for toasty, old-gold flavours to emerge, will have met their match with this one.”

2011 Picpoul de Pinet Domaine de Morin Langaran

And finally, Brian Elliott recommended this wine to his readers in The Scotsman.

He wrote: “This is an excellent example of this fresh, fruity grape that has leaped to stardom. Herbal, minty aromas give way to textured greengage and jaffa orange flavours with a savoury undercurrent. There is also a less dry ‘Etiquette Blanche’ version.”