Top 10 wines in the UK press

Matthew Jukes picks out a white which he says is “already one of the wines of the year” and Jane MacQuitty recommends “the perfect spring white”.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Jukes focuses his wine recommendations on aromas this week, as he picks out “exceptionally alluring, scented wines”.

He does recommend the 2010 Métiss, Pinot d’Alsace, Bott-Geyl, which uses all four Pinto grapes. Jukes said this is a “wonderfully evocative, silky-smooth wine with a stunning wild flower nose and a long finish.”

Meanwhile in The Times Jane MacQuitty recommends a wine from “Kiwi wine wizard Kevin Judd”, who she added “started Greywacke in 2009 and has produced awesome wines ever since”. MacQuitty’s choice is “the prefect spring white” but she said it can be cellared “until 2018 for more of those smokey-toasty flavours to emerge”.

2011 Smoking Loon Syrah

Fiona Beckett in The Guardian focused on wines from the US, writing: “I can’t help feeling, though, that California’s USP should be to offer the wine world a bit of fun rather than copycat Bordeaux or Burgundy.” She added that this wine is “a good, gutsy, spicy red that would be great with the first of the season’s barbecues (California goes in for the Rhône-ish Syrah style rather than Shiraz).”

Pizarras de Otero Bierzo 2011

Victoria Moore in the Daily Telegraph, chose this as one of her wines of the week. She wrote: “What I like about reds from Bierzo is that you get a sort of meaty savour without any gloop or thickness. There’s a gentle florality to this too, in a masculine way — you can feel the tannins like bones through the flesh. And I mean that in a good way. I took it to a supper club where the menu was confit chicken leg on spiced chorizo and chickpea stew and it went beautifully. Bargain, too.”

Serie 8A Ochoa Mil Gracias Graciano Single Vineyard 2008 Navarra

Moore also picked out this wine, writing: “Another Spanish red featuring a region and a grape you may not think you are familiar with. Navarra is in the north-east. Graciano is sometimes used in Rioja, though it’s rare to find it standing alone. It’s quite tangy for a red (brilliant with dinner, especially lamb), slightly spicy, and astringent — think cranberry and a mass of black sticks. But this has lushness too — brambles swooshing past. Delicious.”

SO Organic South African Fairtrade Cabernet Sauvignon NV

For Susy Atkins, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the focus this week was organic wine, she wrote: “A recent French report, which found low levels of pesticide residues in 90 per cent of wines tested, has reawakened my enthusiasm for organic wines.”

Atkins picked out this wine, which she wrote is an “affordable, cheerful Cab Sauv with the aroma of black fruit pastilles and a fresh, juicy cassis flavour that goes down well with peppery sausages or steak frites.”

Baron Amarillo Rioja Reserva 2007

Spanish wine was certainly a favourite among the UK’s wine writers this week as Olly Smith, writing in the Mail on Sunday, picked out this Rioja as his “tipple of the week”. He wrote: “This mellow sipper features the trademark Rioja spice and has just enough structure for you to pair it lamb chops, a roast or a hearty stew. Top value and impressive quality for a red at this price.”

2012 Yalumba, Y Series Viognier

This is the wine that Matthew Jukes, writing in the Daily Mail, said is “already one of the wines of the year”. He added: “This is the best vintage of YSV ever made. The epic peach, hazelnut and pear notes on the nose are sheer perfection and the palate is lithe, nimble and graceful.”

2010 Greywacke Marlborough Chardonnay, Kevin Judd

In The Times Jane MacQuitty recommends this New Zealand white, she wrote: “This delicious 14.5% alcohol Chardonnay is fermented on its own yeast and oak-aged. I loved this seductive 2010’s elegant, smoky, toasted almond and cashew-nut fruit, with a long, lingering, toast and lemon zest finish. It is the perfect spring white — or cellar until 2018 for more of those smoky-toasty flavours to emerge.”

Dominio del Plata Torrontes 2012

In The Independent Terry Kirby, likes to recommend a wine to enjoy with your “midweek meal” and this wine fits that bill this week. He wrote of this wine: “Lovely jasmine and honeysuckle aromas give way to zesty, refreshing flavours of pears and peaches, with a nice citric underpinning. Excellent with lightly spiced Thai prawns, goat’s cheeses or any simple white fish.”

Volpetto Sangiovese Toscana 2010

Kirby also recommends this “highly drinkable, supple, appealing, medium-bodied Tuscan” wine, as a “bargain basement” drop for this week. He added: “Lots of strong, lean, cherry fruit flavours at first, with a more complex structure of woody tobacco and leathery touches emerging. Great with all kinds of pasta with meat sauces, pizzas and light meats.”

2012 Dominio del Plata Torrontes Salta

Brian Elliott, writing in The Scotsman, picked out this Argentinian wine, writing: :The high altitude in this area is often given the credit for the lemon-influenced acidity that makes good Torrontes so appealing. Here, that acidity is supplemented by herbal freshness, an appealing, slightly syrupy texture and, finally, delightful, perfumed peach-dominated flavours.”