White
White
Maison en Belles Lies 2019 Santenay Blanc
French White
Toasty fruit and autumn leaves shape the nose. Baked pear appears on the palate, joined by roasted nuts and a fresh citrus finish. Biodynamic farming, sustainable sourcing, sustainable production and very low sulphur levels frame the winemaking approach. Alcohol is 13 percent. Suggested pairings include chicken, daal and chicken satay. The wine comes from France's Burgundy region.
Artemis Karamolegos 2021 Santorini 34 Assyrtiko
Greek White
Citrus and stone fruit accompany toast, nutmeg, mineral and smoky notes. The Assyrtiko comes from ancestral vines more than 120 years old in Pyrgos, Exo Gonia, Fira, Akrotiri and Megalochori. Fermentation and ageing use stainless steel, old barrels, cement and clay. The wine spends at least one year in the cellar and carries 14 percent alcohol.
Josmeyer 2022 Le Kottabe Riesling
French White
Light green-yellow colour accompanies apple, citrus, floral, flint and mineral notes. The dry Riesling has fresh, juicy character, 12 percent alcohol, less than three grams per litre sugar and six grams per litre acidity. Forty-five-year-old vines grow in a dozen gravelly alluvial parcels. Hand-picked grapes ferment spontaneously in century-old casks and mature on fine lees for several months.
Coulter Wines 2022 C1 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
Australian White
Straw-yellow colour with green tinges accompanies lemon curd, peach, toasted oatmeal and briny notes. Citrus, white peach, pithy lime, ginger spice and phenolic grip are also present. Hand-picked fruit comes from a thirty-year-old vineyard at 450 metres. Full-solids juice ferments in French oak, without malolactic conversion or lees stirring, and remains in oak for nine months.
Blue Mountain 2023 Blossom Slope Block 17 Chardonnay
Canadian White
Lemon curd, white flowers and wet stone accompany a focused, textural Chardonnay with a long mineral finish. Block 17 has westerly exposure, coarse loamy sand and thirty-three-year-old vines. The site is planted to clones 76, 95 and 96. Stone fruit and vanilla join apple in the glass. The wine spends eighteen months in French oak.
Domaine Séguinot-Bordet 2023 Chablis Vieilles Vignes
French White
The colour is pale gold with green reflections, bright and clear. Ample, expressive and fresh aromas include fruit, vanilla, fresh vegetal and subtle floral notes. The Chardonnay is powerful and rich, combining softness with vivacity. The finish is long and mineral, expressing rigour and charm. Old vines grow around Maligny in Chablis, where the vineyards have south-west exposure.
Ghost Rock 2024 Sauvignon Blanc
Australian White
Florals and tropical fruit accompany white peach, honeydew melon, passionfruit, slate and fresh-cut grass. The Sauvignon Blanc has lively acidity, chalky texture and a long, fresh finish. Eighty-five percent ferments in stainless steel with selected yeast, while fifteen percent ferments naturally in new French oak. Both portions receive lees stirring and extended time on lees. Alcohol is 13 percent.
Frog’s Leap 2021 Sauvignon Blanc
American White
Freshness and depth accompany bright fruit and crisp mineral detail. The Sauvignon Blanc received about three hours of skin contact before pressing, followed by roughly six months on the lees. Two percent of the blend fermented in a concrete egg. The wine is made entirely from Sauvignon Blanc grown in certified-organic, dry-farmed vineyards. Production totalled eleven thousand two hundred ten cases.
Olivier Rivière 2022 La Bastid Rioja Blanco
Spanish White
Floral notes, white fruit, yeast and spice accompany a fresh, fine palate and soft mouthfeel. The white blend comes from Rioja in Spain and carries 13 percent alcohol. Fermentation uses amphorae, oak vats and concrete, followed by eight to ten months on the lees in French and used oak. Viura and Garnacha Blanca come from clay-limestone soils in Rioja Alta.
Weingut Falkenstein 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Vinschgau
Italian White
Rich straw-yellow colour is joined by herbal notes, citrus, lemon and salt, along with a long finish. The Sauvignon Blanc spends ten months in large wooden barrels and receives another seven months in bottle. It carries 13.5 percent alcohol and 0.6 grams per litre residual sugar. The wine comes from Vinschgau in Alto Adige, Italy.
Nikolaihof 2021 Zwickl Grüner Veltliner
Austrian White
Silver-golden colour is slightly cloudy yet bright. Asparagus, mineral detail, ginger and lime appear in the glass. The Grüner Veltliner is medium-bodied, with medium tannins, acidity and a creamy texture. Lime and mineral notes are joined by a long finish with green apple. This white wine is Biodynamic and comes from the Wachau in Austria.
Donkiesbaai 2022 Steen Chenin Blanc
South African White
Fresh straw colour accompanies peach, lime, macadamia nougat, elderflower and oak. The Chenin is round and rich, with mineral detail and a full, balanced finish. Grapes were destemmed, crushed, pressed and settled overnight. The wine uses a combination of stainless steel, French barriques, concrete eggs and clay amphorae. It is dry, with 13.11 percent alcohol and 1.9 grams per litre residual sugar.
Olivier Rivière 2023 Le Blanc Rioja
Spanish White
Straw-yellow colour with golden reflections accompanies peach, stone fruit, citrus, mandarin and spice. The white blend is creamy, with acidity and a long finish. Viura, Malvasía and Garnacha Blanca come from nine small parcels in Rioja Alavesa on clay and marl. Grapes are hand harvested, then fermentation and ageing are divided equally between concrete and French oak for eight to ten months.
Henri de Villamont 2023 Savigny-lès-Beaune Le Village Blanc
French White
Straw-yellow colour with golden tints accompanies white flowers, pear and peach. Citrus and mineral notes appear with white peach, crunchy apple and honey. The Chardonnay is structured and fresh, with a long finish. Fruit comes from a young domaine monopole parcel. The unsulphured harvest receives its first sulphur addition after malolactic conversion, and the wine rests eleven months in oak barrels.
Josmeyer 2017 H Vieilles Vignes Pinot Auxerrois
French White
Mirabelle and apricot appear with mineral and saline detail. The Pinot Auxerrois is fleshy and chalky, with long bitter notes. Grapes are harvested entirely by hand and whole-cluster pressed for about seven hours. After natural settling, spontaneous fermentation takes place in a century-old foudre. The wine rests on fine lees for several months before filtration and bottling.
Forge Cellars 2020 Freese Dry Riesling
American White
White pepper, apricot and saline detail appear in a dry Riesling. Fruit comes from Freese Vineyard on the east side of Seneca Lake at Lodi, where gentle slopes sit on loam with shale. Grapes were hand harvested, sorted and whole-cluster pressed. Indigenous-yeast fermentation took place in barrel. Residual sugar is 2.5 grams per litre, with 580 cases produced.
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2013 Ethos Reserve Chardonnay
American White
Toasted oak, poached pear, butter and nutmeg accompany pear, crème brûlée and Golden Delicious apple. The Chardonnay is rich, full-bodied and textured, with peach and a long finish. Fruit comes primarily from Canoe Ridge Estate and Cold Creek vineyards. The wine spends nine months on its lees in French oak, using thirty-six percent new, sixty percent one-year-old and four percent two-year-old barrels.
Pax 2017 Buddha’s Dharma Vineyard Chenin Blanc
American White
Melon, wool, Mirabelle plum and flowers appear with exotic fruit and spice. The Chenin Blanc is fresh and long. Vines were planted in nineteen forty-four on gravelly volcanic soils and are dry farmed without chemicals. Grapes are whole-cluster pressed. Ambient fermentation and full malolactic conversion take place in neutral French oak and new Stockinger Austrian barrels, followed by ten months in the same vessels.
Domaine Billaud-Simon 2014 Chablis Premier Cru Mont de Milieu
French White
Lemon and crisp green apple appear in a ripe, juicy Chardonnay. Citrus, spice and floral notes accompany a mineral, finely cut profile with roundness and substance. The wine has a textured, tight character and persistent mineral detail. Fruit comes from Mont de Milieu in Chablis Premier Cru. Ageing takes place in both tank and barrel, with fifteen thousand five hundred bottles produced.
Pierre Gaillard 2018 Saint-Joseph Blanc
French White
Yellow stone fruit, pastry and honey appear in this white. The Roussanne is round and rich, with a fresh finish. Fruit comes from granitic sand in Malleval and Chavanay, grown on south-east-facing hilltops. Grapes are hand harvested, gently pressed and settled. Barrel fermentation uses no new wood, followed by nine months on lees with stirring.
Forge Cellars 2020 Wagner Caywood East Dry Riesling
American White
Apricot, quince and ripe peach accompany lemon peel and flinty mineral notes. The Riesling has concentration, fresh acidity and structure. Fruit comes from a high-elevation vineyard on shale soils east of Seneca Lake. The long, windswept site has a steep slope, reaches the crest and includes bands of gravelly soil. Spontaneous fermentation takes place in neutral barrel.
Coulter Wines 2022 C4 Eden Valley Riesling
Australian White
Green apple, lime sorbet and wet limestone appear in a finely focused Riesling. The wine is linear and persistent, with racy acidity and a long, steely finish. Fruit comes from Eden Valley in South Australia, and the style is bone dry. The producer works with grower fruit and makes its wines in a former church at Uleybury in the Adelaide Hills.
Domaine Besson 2020 Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons
French White
Pale yellow colour accompanies white blossom and yellow fruit. The Chardonnay is round and generous, with yellow-fruit flavour. Grapes come from 2.46 hectares of clay-limestone soils in Vaillons. Slow, low-pressure pressing precedes fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel, with eight percent fermented in oak. Lees ageing lasts eighteen months in steel, with a small portion kept in oak barrels.
Domaine Marcel Richaud 2021 Cairanne Blanc
French White
White flowers, nectarine, orange peel and honey appear in a velvety white. White-fruit flavours, salinity and freshness accompany a rich profile. The blend includes Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, Bourboulenc, Marsanne and Vermentino. Grapes are hand harvested, and the farming is organic. Most fermentation and ageing take place in concrete, with a smaller portion using 600-litre oak vessels.
Duckhorn 2015 Napa Valley Chardonnay
American White
Nectarine, vanilla and cream accompany pear, peach, chai and wildflowers. The Chardonnay has a bright entry and a rich, silky texture, with delicate French-oak detail and a long mineral finish. Fermentation uses French oak, with lees stirring. Cooperage is ninety percent French oak and ten percent stainless steel, followed by ten months of barrel ageing. Alcohol is 14.1 percent.
Jean Foillard 2023 Beaujolais Blanc
French White
White flowers, green apple and pear appear with citrus and a saline mineral finish. The Chardonnay comes from a 1.4-hectare parcel at Pizay, planted with vines ten to fifteen years old. Whole clusters receive a three-day cold maceration before pressing. Half the wine is vinified in concrete, while the remainder uses old barrels and sandstone jars. Production totalled around twelve thousand bottles.
Forge Cellars 2020 Peach Orchard Dry Riesling
American White
Honeysuckle and orange blossom accompany white peach and mirabelle plum. Wet stone and lemon pith are also present in this dry Riesling. Fruit comes from the east side of Seneca Lake, on Howard gravelly silt loam. Grapes were hand harvested, sorted and whole-cluster pressed. Indigenous-yeast fermentation took place in barrel, with 3.6 grams per litre of residual sugar.
Domaine Desvignes 2019 Givry Blanc En Chenèves
French White
Pure Chardonnay fruit and floral notes appear in a crisp, precise white. The blend is ninety percent Chardonnay and ten percent Pinot Blanc. Fruit comes from a north-east-facing site at the foot of the Givry slope, on clay-limestone soil. Grapes are gently pressed and settled before slow fermentation in French oak. Fine-lees ageing continues for twelve months in barrel.
1006 Vins de Loire 2021 Celeste Chenin Blanc
French White
Chenin from a single parcel of twenty-five-year-old vines grows on sandstone and puddingstone soils in Anjou. The plot was in its second year of conversion to organic farming. Grapes are hand harvested and pressed slowly into French oak, where fermentation begins with natural yeast. The wine spends seventeen months in second-fill French oak barrels and is made without animal products.
Domaine Gautheron 2023 Chablis Vieilles Vignes
French White
Pale gold with soft green reflections, this Chardonnay has apricot, lemon, light smoke and floral notes. The mouth is precise and salivating, with clear mineral structure, concentration and length. Fruit comes from vines more than forty years old on a south-facing slope with Kimmeridgian limestone. Fermentation and malolactic conversion are followed by lees ageing in stainless-steel tanks.