Seven outstanding organic wines for summer

If you are looking for something top-rated, refreshing and environmentally-responsible, then read on for our organic wine recommendations for summer sipping – all of which were Gold medal winners from this year’s Global Organic Wine Masters.

Following a comprehensive tastings of wines that are certified as either organic or biodynamic, we have picked out the best performers among the whites and rosés to prove that you can enjoy fine, fresh wines that also meet the constraints of ecologically-sensitive viticultural methods.

Taking in wines from Provence to New Zealand and England, our seven-strong selection offers a broad choice in terms of source regions, as well as wine styles – from the delicate to the rich, barrel-fermented options.

All the wines that feature over the following pages were selected ‘blind’ – which means that they were tasted without any knowledge as to their source or varietal components – as part of db’s Organic Wine Masters 2020.

This annual competition is the largest organic-only wine tasting in the UK, and has been devised to single out the best samples in this growing sector, with the only stipulation for entries being that the grapes and / or wine must be certified organic and / or biodynamic.

The selection below follows our previous handful of great-value organic white wines, which you can see by clicking here, as well as a listing of five fantastic organic reds for under £10, which you can view here.

Please see below for our selection of outstanding organic wines for summer sipping, and if you think you deserve a place on this list, please visit The Global Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions, please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com

Château Leoube Rosé

• Producer: Château Leoube
• Region: Côtes de Provence
• Country: France
• Grape variety: Grenache (40%), Cinsault (40%), Syrah (10%), Mouvedre (10%)
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2019
• Closure: Natural cork
• Approx. retail price: £20
• Medal: Gold – Organic Wine Masters 2020

One of the top producers of Provençal wines, the rosés from Château Leoube are both delicious and organic. Owned by Britain’s Bamford family, proprietors of machinery manufacturer JCB, but also the founders of Daylesford Organic – one of the UK’s most sustainable farms – it’s no surprise that the wines from Leoube are produced according to organic growing methods.

However, such an agricultural approach is no guarantee of quality, so it is wonderful to discover the high quality of Leoube’s produce. This particular rosé has the typical pale salmon pink appearance of Provençal pinks, and a moreish flavour combination of wild strawberry, ripe peach and pomegranate, with a touch of fresh pink grapefruit and redcurrant. This union of soft juicy fruit and more crunchy characters makes this a particularly indulgent and mouthwatering drink.

Oxney Organic Estate, Classic Rosé, English sparkling wine

• Producer: Oxney Organic Estate
• Region: East Sussex, England
• Country: UK
• Grape variety: Pinot Noir
• Abv: 12%
• Vintage: 2016
• Residual sugar: 2.6g/l (Brut Nature)
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Approx. retail price: £35
• Medal: Gold – Organic Wine Masters 2020

It’s becoming increasingly well known that if you want fine, refreshing sparkling wine, then England is a fantastic place to go. But with its damp maritime climate, the country is hardly the obvious place to practice organic farming – which does away with powerful synthetic fungicides to deal with all manner of grape diseases, many of which are caused by damp conditions. So, it was exciting to find that this year’s most highly-rated organic pink sparkling wine was from the UK, offering the drinker a sustainable, and refreshing option, loaded with fresh apple, and ripe strawberry fruit, along with a bit of brown bread and hazelnut, before cleaning the mouth with fine bubbles, and a chalky dry sensation, plus a touch of citrus zest. In short, a delicious, bright, estate-grown organic fizz from Sussex.

Rina Lanca Grillo Viognier Sicilia DOC

• Producer: Feudo di Santa Tresa
• Region: Sicily
• Country: Italy
• Grape variety: Grillo (70%), Viognier (30%)
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2019
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Approx. retail price: £10-12
• Medal: Gold – Organic Wine Masters 2020

Benefitting from Sicily’s dry sunny conditions, Feudo di Santa Tresa is able to produce juicy organic wines of brilliant value. Indeed, this white wine was awarded a Gold medal in this year’s Organic Wine Masters for being the highest-scoring wine of its category – £10-15 whites. In fact, at around just £11, it offers a lot of wine for the money, with a pleasing combination of ripe peach and rich apricot fruit – from the Viognier component – and fresh lemon and zesty lime characters too, even a lovely lingering grapefruit flavour on the finish. It is satisfying, and refreshing, without being too pricy.

The Darling Sauvignon Blanc

• Producer: The Darling Wines
• Region: Marlborough
• Country: New Zealand
• Grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2019
• Closure: Screwcap
• Approx. retail price: £15-20
• Medal: Gold – Organic Wine Masters 2020

Nowadays it’s possible to find an organic version of all wine styles, including the popular, widely-circulated types, such as New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. In other words, you don’t have to turn away from mainstream wines wine when you turn to organics. And, if you love Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and desire a white wine made without synthetic inputs, then this sample from Darling Wines offer an ideal solution, while being a brilliant bottle.

Expect the usual intense pungency that makes Kiwi Sauvignon’s so distinctive and demanded, with masses of passion fruit and blackcurrant leaf aromatics, along with fresh grapefruit and a touch of green bell pepper too – a hallmark of cool-climate whites from this grape.

Angove Wild Olive Organic McLaren Vale Chardonnay

• Producer: Angove Family Winemakers
• Region: South Australia
• Country: Australia
• Grape variety: Chardonnay
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2019
• Closure: Screwcap
• Approx. retail price: £15-20
• Medal: Gold – Organic Wine Masters 2020

Based in the McLaren Vale, Angove is one of Australia’s most respected organic wine producers, so it’s no surprise that its Chardonnay should be a Gold-medal winner in 2020’s competition. It’s also a classic style of Aussie Chardonnay that should appeal to the long-standing Chardonnay drinker, with peach, cream and cashew flavours, providing an oily, nutty, ripe style of white wine, but also, with it’s clean stone fruit character, a wine of purity as well as richness.

Vanedda Bianco Terre Siciliane IGP

• Producer: Azienda Agricola Cortese
• Region: Sicily
• Country: Italy
• Grape variety: Catarratto (60%), Grillo (30%), Fiano (10%)
• Abv: 13.5%
• Vintage: 2017
• Closure: Agglomerated cork
• Approx. retail price: £15-20
• Medal: Gold – Organic Wine Masters 2020

Judging by this year’s Organic Wine Masters, Sicily is a great place for growing delicious, environmentally-friendly wines with lots of personality, with a number of entrants to the competition picking up top scores. Among the whites, however, this was the ultimate example, and a powerful wine from a first-rate organic producer on the Italian island. Slightly evolved – it hails from the 2017 vintage – it has a flavours of beeswax that come with aged white wines, but also ripe, yellow fruit, such as honeydew melon and peach, along with a hint of oak-influence, with a pleasing cashew-nut character too. It’s an oily wine, that has the flavour and texture to go with a wide range of foods, or offer an interesting and weighty aperitif. Either way, it’s a delicious drop

Brama by Château Maris

• Château Maris
• Region: Occitanie
• Country: France
• Grape variety: Grenache Gris
• Abv: 14.5%
• Vintage: 2016
• Closure: Natural cork
• Approx. retail price: £25
• Medal: Master – Organic Wine Masters 2020

The top-scoring white in this year’s Organic Wine Masters was from brilliant southern French biodynamic specialist Château Maris. While this producer’s richly-flavoured reds have been strong performers in past Organic Wine Masters, this was the first year we had tried their flagship white wine – called Brama – and it offered the same high standard. Indeed, this pure Grenache Gris from the Minervois is a powerful, barrel-fermented wine with beeswax and wood shavings along with peach and pear fruit, and a touch of apple skin, giving a gently bitter-fresh finish. It is textural wine, with layers of flavour, tons of character and, with all its fruit, oak and richness, a highly versatile one too.