Top 10 wines in the UK press

Clos Rocailleux Braucol Rosé 2012

It’s another week when summer drinking takes centre stage, with a flurry of fizz, rosé and party wines on offer. Anthony Rose in The Independent reports from the London Wine Fair, and believes “one of the biggest successes was a new section called Esoterica, with 62 boutique companies specialising in native and rare grape varieties from a diverse set of countries.” Here’s one of his selections: “Richmond-based Red Squirrel advertises itself as Britain’s ‘rare grape specialists’ and true to that billing, showed a tangy, summer-pudding-fresh 2012 Braucol Rosé’.

Price: £8.50

Ruggeri, Prosecco Brut Quartese DOCG NV

Fiona Beckett is talking Prosecco in The Guardian this week: “The reason Prosecco now outsells Champagne is that it’s a lot cheaper”, she says, “ but I think it’s also more to many people’s taste[…] light and fresh, rather than complex and toasty. It’s also sweeter than most Champagne.”

Fiona’s “best discovery” was the producer Ruggeri, who make “some lovely wines that may well make you think about Prosecco in a different way. Start with the surprisingly intense Quartese. Yes, it’s a bit pricey for Prosecco, but it’s cheap compared with Champagne.”

Price: £14.95 (10% off for six)

Champagne Veuve Monsigny Brut NV, Philizot & Fils

Olly Smith in The Daily Mail serves up some Wimbledon fizz options at the start of a fortnight of tennis, and gives some general advice: “When you sip fine Champagne, the bubbles should be minuscule and there ought to be masses of them. Your palate ought not to feel pins and needles, but playful effervescence.”

The Veuve Monsigny, says Olly, is “an incredible price for Champagne packed with zesty freshness and moreish complexity. Boom!”

Price: £12.99 Aldi

Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs Champagne Brut, France NV

It’s Champagne all the way for David Williams too in The Observer this week. Far better, he says, to stick to the traditional fizz when watching the tennis than try your hand at homemade Pimms: “Not cheap, but then for the price (near enough) of a flute of fizz in an SW9 food court, you can have a whole bottle of Sainsbury’s refined and savoury own-label white sparkler made by Duval-Leroy from black grapes Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir.

Price: £22.25, Sainsbury

High and Dry Riesling 2013, Snake + Herring, Porongurup, Western Australia

Hamish Anderson in The Telegraph picks some of the best wines to take outside this summer and for his white selection he looks to a firm favourite from Down Under:

“I was delighted to see this at the M&S tasting; Snake + Herring was my favourite discovery on a tour of Oz last year. For me, summer would not be summer without fine Riesling, and this is a stunner with flavours of lime, kiwi, flowers and the sea.”

Price: £15.99, Marks & Spencer

Anfora Trio 2012, Turkey

Hamish Anderson in The Telegraph turns to his red choices for outside summer drinking, and looks to Turkey:

“This is a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and the local variety Kalecik Karasi, grown in the south-west of Turkey. There is masses of interest here for a sub-£8 wine: brambly fruit, earth, spice and leather are framed by a good bite of tannin. A wine full of character that will be a dream with red meat grilled over an open flame. “

Price: £7.99, Marks & Spencer

Les Nivières Saumur Rouge 2012, Loire, France

Victoria Moore in The Telegraph highlights her “Top Deals” for the week with a pick from northern France:

“This light red wine made in the Loire from Cabernet Franc has been a summer standby in my kitchen for years now. This vintage isn’t quite as aromatic as some but it still tastes delicious – the minute you get a mouthful of redcurrants, you know you’re drinking Cabernet Franc.”

Price: £6.99 Waitrose (until 15 July, then £8.99)

Cuvée Marguerite Château Thivin Beaujolais Blanc 2012

Terry Kirby in the Independent on Sunday gives his Sunday lunch recommendation: “From an area best known for its succulent reds, this Brouilly white is a wonderful, revelatory reintroduction to the true virtues of Chardonnay – unoaked, pure, lemony, mineral flavours, with an underlying spiciness that adds complexity. Simply gorgeous and different.”

Price: £14.59, christopherpiperwines.co.uk; £16.20, nickdobsonwines.com

Goldwater Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Marlborough, New Zealand

Bob Tyrer in The Sunday Times is on a mission to discover sub-£10 wines for a friend’s summer party and turns to Majestic, despite his “two personal niggles” about the retailer: “Majestic’s single bottle prices are often unrealistically high. And by the time I’ve toured a warehouse, looking at familiar labels, I’m bored stiff”. He chooses Goldwater Sauvignon Blanc, a “classic Kiwi SB, with freshness, zip and a crunchy texture for seafood and buffet fodder”.

£11.99 (£8.99 for 2 or more)

Signature Vermentino Terre Siciliane 2012, Italy

Susy Atkins gives her advice for a trouble-free summer party drinks menu in the Sunday Telegraph: “Crisp, easy-going Italian whites, such as Lugana, Soave or even superior Pinot Grigio, marry best with light, savoury snacks. Otherwise, pick dry rosés or soft, tangy reds”.

Susy urges us to try the Signature Vermentino Terre Siciliane, as it’s a “light, breezily fresh white with gentle notes of lime and white pepper. A versatile, well-priced party wine, dry but not sour.”

Price: £7.99, Morrisons