I have majored on white wines this month, given the season, and yet the diversity of flavours on offer here shows not only the breadth of the Yapp cellar but also that well-selected whites can cover almost all flavour-bases when it comes to food and wine-matching. One rosé and one red complete the picture and, for a French specialist merchant, it is exciting to bring Germany and Australia into the mix. However, there is an overarching theme this month which might not necessarily be apparent and I would like to bring it to your attention. While every wine is spectacular, they are all slightly off-piste in one way or another and this is what keeps one’s brain intrigued and engaged as well as one’s palate thoroughly satiated.
Cheers!
Matthew Jukes | MoneyWeek Wine Editor
How it works
This collection is available to buy online, or you can place your order by phone via Yapp - call them on on 01747 860423 and quote “MoneyWeek” to benefit from exclusive MoneyWeek savings and FREE UK delivery.
Prices shown below are per case of six bottles. This collection is also available as a mixed case, giving you one of each bottle for just £99 - it’s a chance for you to try them all, and is the most popular choice with MoneyWeek readers!
2018 Reuilly Blanc, Gérard Cordier, Loire, France£13.75 £12.75 per bottle
From one of the lesser-known villages neighbouring Sancerre, I have followed Cordier’s razor-sharp wines for nearly thirty years and this estate always rewards. Super-fresh and unnervingly adult in its dramatic delivery of acidity, this is a daring Sauvignon Blanc for those of you who find regular versions of this grape boring and predictable. If you love invigorating, action-packed, bone dry wines, this Reuilly is guaranteed to have you quaking, ever so slightly, in your boots.
£76.50 per case - BUY NOW
2017 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, Alain Graillot, Northern Rhône, France£24.75 £23.75 per bottle
You will know that Crozes is a red wine region with only about 10% of production being white. I remember drinking my very first Graillot wine, back in 1988 at Willi’s Wine Bar in Paris. I have been a fan since the very first molecule passed my lips. This sensational white, made from 80% Marsanne, 20% Roussanne, and sealed with a screwcap (hoorah), is deceptively rich, with restrained, super-classy fruit and minutes long finish. This is your main course white for top flight fish dishes this month.
£142.50 per case - BUY NOW
2017 Les Sorcières du Clos des Fées White, Côtes du Roussillon, France£15.75 £14.75 per bottle
Everything about this oddball wine is enchanting. The broomstick-riding fairy on the label, the ‘white’ glass bottle revealing the pale primrose hue and the uniquely engaging fruit notes which are both beguiling and curious, with a flavour which evolves in the glass. With no oak interfering with proceedings it’s the invigorating cocktail of white grapes that makes this wine so magical. Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Roussanne and Macabeu combine to give a slippery, wild-flower and near-tropical theme. You’ll be amazed at just how lip-smacking this wine is.
£88.50 per case - BUY NOW
2017 Riesling Trocken, Alte Reben, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Mosel, Germany£19.75 £18.75 per bottle
I love von Kesselstatt wines. This one is a departure from their more familiar style of off-dry, grapey, soothing elixirs. Made from older vines (Alte Reben) and keeping the residual sugar level down to a rather pinched 7g/l, this is a genuinely dry and firm Mosel Riesling. This style is grabbing headlines in top German restaurants and wine bars. I love the tension here, but it is the counterpoint between the classic Mosel nose and then the racy, taut palate. Modern and thirst-quenching (I realise that this is a wine and not a beer), this is a perfect addition to your summer wine schedule.
£112.50 per case - BUY NOW
2018 Lirac, La Fermade Rosé, Domaine Maby, Southern Rhône, France£13.65 £12.65 per bottle
The vast majority of Lirac is red and, unlike it near neighbour Tavel, it is not very well known for making rosé wines. Maby is a superstar so it should come as no surprise to hear this wine is a thriller. Silky, clean and with discreet power just humming below the surface, this is a controlled, ‘foody’ rosé that really impresses the palate. Drink it with any dish you care to mention - it looks the part, too. Step away from the diluted, confected stuff seen on every street corner and taste a rosé with true attitude.
£75.90 per case - BUY NOW
2015 Forest Hill Estate, Shiraz, Mount Barker, Western Australia£17.95 £16.95 per bottle
Aussie Shiraz is, obviously, a world class category of wine, but WA is not necessarily a state you would head to in search of this grape. From the cool Mount Barker wine region, some 200 miles southeast of Perth, comes this spicy, tangy, wild-berry-soaked wine which has none of the fruit-sweetness that is often associated with Shiraz from South Australia. Shaped more like a northern Rhône wine, this is a classic partner to barbecued lamb with rosemary and other similarly carnivorous, but summery, dishes. It's Yapp’s palate with an Australian accent and so, no surprise, it works perfectly.
£101.70 per case - BUY NOW
Order online or call Yapp on 01747 860423 and quote MoneyWeek Wines