Top 10 wines in the UK press

Cantina Tollo Gufo Rosso Terre di Chieti, Italy 2014

David Williams, writing in The Guardian, suggested a trio of wines to accompany a selection of Italian recipes curated by Joseph Trivelli this week, starting with this Italian red to match a creamy, cheesy pasta dish.

“There’s something unpretentious, rustic, and, not to beat about the bush, cheap about the dish, and I’d be looking for a red of similar qualities”, said Williams. “It would need to have acidity to cut through the fat of the cheese, and Italian reds are almost always good for that. Oddbins has a delicious candidate in Gufo Rosso from Abruzzo, which has the tartness of cherries and the juiciness of ripe plums, while Asda’s refreshing Wine Atlas Frappato 2014 (£4.97) is similarly juicy, soft and almost tannin-free, although with more of a soft strawberry tang.”

Price: £6.50, Oddbins

Altavia Rossese di Dolceacqua Superiore 2010, Liguria, Italy

Taking a recipe of mullet and porcini mushrooms, Williams chose this Italian red from Liguria as the perfect pairing, a wine not “overburdened with burly tannins”.

“A Pinot Nero (such as Ca’ di Alte Pinot Nero Veneto 2013; £12, M&S) would work nicely”, said Williams. “Better yet, to go with the Ligurian inspiration of the dish, Altavia’s take on the local rossese di dolceacqua is delicate in colour, brisk in feel, and haunting in herb-inflected red-cherry flavour.”

Price: £19.99, Red Squirrel Wine

Pellegrino Pantelleria Passito Liquoroso 2014

Completing the trio, Joseph suggested pouring a splash of this Italian dessert wine, made partially from grapes dried in the sun on the island of Pantelleria, over a rich ice cream.

“It has a mellow, dried-fruit quality and the unctuous smoothness and sweetness of honey”, said Williams. “But it also has a perky streak of orange acidity and a trace, still, of the youthful floral, grapey character of the Zibibbo (Muscat) grapes used to make it.”

Price: £10.75, 37.5cl, Oddbins

Hambledon Première Cuvée NV Hampshire

With English wine booming Victoria Moore, writing for The Telegraph, picked out 10 of her favourites, with Hambledon’s Premiere Cuvee from Hampshire making the cut.

“A standard-bearer for the quality that England can achieve. It’s a very assured wine, with a firm acidic spine, but also complexity and detail”, said Moore. “Great focus and precision.”

Price: Berry Bros & Rudd, £42

Nyetimber Rosé 2009 West Sussex

Nyetimber was another favourite, with Moore picking its 2009 Rosé which she said had “more colour than many English pinks”, a “tinge of wild raspberries”, and a “reassuring, savoury flavour.”

Price: Waitrose Cellar, £45

Carmele Recas, Solo Quinta 2014, Romania

Wines from Romania are not yet common to most UK supermarkets, but wine buyers and writers are already touting it as a region with plenty of potential, including Tom Cannavan of The Huffington Post. 

“I have to say I absolutely loved this slightly bonkers wine”, said Cannavan. “Made in north-western Romania by the progressive Carmele Recas, which has an English owner and Australian winemaker, it is an unlikely blend of the familiar grapes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, the less familiar local varieties Feteasca Regala and Muscat Ottonel, and finally, the red wine grape, Cabernet Franc, but made as a highly aromatic white wine”

He added: “Ageing in oak barrels gives an inviting toast and honey depth to the nose, but it is such wonderful spikes of perfume that really power this, from floral to herbal and from tropical to citrus, it’s aromatic fireworks in a glass. On the palate the fruit is explosive too, bursting with ripe peach and pear, a mandarin orange brightness, and then a core of lemony acidity that streaks through the finish.”

Price: £11.70, Tanners

Beronia Verdejo Rueda 2014

Terry Kirby, writing in The Independent, recommended this 2014 Spanish Verdejo produced by Bodegas Beronia’s, the producer’s first white wine produced outside of Rioja.

“A wonderfully well-crafted Spanish white, made with two different harvests from the same vineyard, picked early and late, which achieves the desired balance between fresh, vibrant apple and stone-fruit flavours and an underlying herbal complexity”, said Kirby. “Would suit lighter white meat dishes or shellfish dishes.”

Price: £8.99, Ocado

Chemins de Gascogne 2014, France

Kirby also recommended this white from the “remarkable Plaimont co-operative in south-west France”, which he said “blends big, efficient production with a large range of really individual wines”.

“This is a lovely blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Colombard, the latter adding a little creaminess to the former’s sparky citrus and grapefruit”, he said. “Try with grilled sea bass or bream.”

Price: £5, Tesco

J Opi aka Rodolfo Sadler Malbec 2014, Mendoza

Finally Jamie Goode, writing for The Express, picked seven of his top picks from Argentina, including this Malbec from J Opi aka Rodolfo Sadler.

“This shows fresh, floral raspberry and black-cherry fruit with a savoury spiciness”, he said. “It’s quite tight and youthful with a hint of spicy oak.”

Price: £7.99, laithwaites.co.uk

Trapiche Pure Malbec 2014, Mendoza

“This is so floral and vivid, with violets, blackcurrants and black cherries”, said Kirby of this Malbec from Trapiche. “With pure fruit and an attractive suppleness, it’s the very essence of Malbec.”

£8.99, The Co-operative