Top Ten White Wines of 2018 with recommended wines starting at £6.49 and going up to £13.95. The Co-op (for successive years), Sainsbury’s and local independents are putting up a good show, with other supermarkets and retailers making up the rest of the Top Ten.
So what can you expect from a white wine that costs more than £6 and so puts it in the above average price per bottle bracket? Lots of flavours that all complement each other so that no one flavour dominates, plus the ability to keep on drinking to the end of the bottle rather than getting bored half way down – which can be the case with some cheaper whites where only one or two flavours make up the wine.
And when you start getting into the £9+ range you’ll also notice a distinct change in the label quality and design. This is because when a wine maker can get more profit per bottle they can justify spending just a little bit more on good graphic design and thicker paper for their labels. Which is part of the ‘posh’ feel you sense when handling the vessel leading to warmer, possibly less judgemental analysis, on drinking the wine.
So how can you avoid this high price bias? Well you could buy all your bottles ‘blind’ without seeing the label (which is going to be difficult to do unless you attend what is know as a ‘blind tasting’ where the labels are deliberately covered up) or you could seek someone else’s advice on what to buy – possibly a wine columnist who has tasted lots and lots of wines so is able to put each wine into context.
Well here they are in ascending order of price.
Top Ten White Wines of 2018
1. Limestone German Riesling 2017
£6.49 Aldi
A really nice fruity wine with just a touch of sweetness making it ideal for food. Pear, lemon, melon and a hint of bubblegum.
2. Tino Pai French Sauvignon Blanc 2017
£7 SPAR
A light and fruity white with flavours of fresh lemon and apple.
3. Sylvaner 2017, Italy
£7.99 Lidl
A sophisticated white that should be on everyone’s Christmas list. Fresh pear aromas waft out of of the bottle as soon as the cork is removed, with a floral flavour backbone to follow,
4. Domaine Herbauges Chateau de la Perre Muscadet 2017, France
£8.50 Sainsbury’s (down from £10 until December 11)
Delicate flavours of pear, apple and peach make this an ideal lunch-time wine.
5. Cavit Bottega Vinai 2017, Italy
£8.75 Noel Young Wines and other independents
The slight tingle to the taste makes this a good choice for an aperitif. Nice.
6. Mora Vista Argentinean Sauvignon Blanc 2017
£8.99 Virgin Wines
Floral melon and pear – not your usualy gooseberry flavours of a Sauvignon Balnc.
7. Campogrande Orvieto Classico 2016, Italy
£9.99 Co-op
Classic flavours of creamy apple, lemon and almond.
8. Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay 2015, South Africa
£10.99 Co-op
Remember Fry’s Turkish Delight? Well it tastes like that along with apple pie and nutmeg. Complex stuff.
9. Bouchard Pere et Fils Vin de Bourgogne Chardonnay 2017, France
£11.99 The Solent Cellar and Amps Wine Merchants
A great Christmas Day choice with its sweet-sour flavours that match many foods.
10. Corney and Barrow Burgundy 2017, France
£13.95 Corney and Barrow
Creamy apple and cheese with a dash of lemon. Nice.
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© Paula Goddard 2017 www.paulagoddard.com
