BOXING DAY WHITES

2017 Taste The Difference Gavi, Piedmont, Italy (£9, reduced to £7.75 until January 1, Sainsbury’s) AT HALF the price of the Christmas Eve Gavi featured yesterday, you might imagine this is underpowered — but it does a very good job indeed. Dry, refreshing, light and long. 2016 Cave de Beblenheim Pinot Gris Reserve, Alsace, France (£10.99, reduced to £8.99 until January 1, Waitrose) PINOT Gris from Alsace has far more weight and succulence than its Italian namesake Pinot Grigio. This elevates it from aperitif duties to a definite foodie wine. The mid-palate billows with pear notes and the finish is long and sonorous. A snip of a price for a clever wine. 2016 Robert Oatley Finisterre Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia (£18.99, nine branches of Waitrose and waitrosecellar.com) I LOVE the Signature Chardonnay from Robert Oatley (£11, Co-op), but Finisterre is the fully upholstered version. A stunning example of how important Margaret River Chardonnay has become. 2017 Fox Gordon Princess Fiano, Adelaide Hills, South Australia (£16.50, Oddbins) FOX GORDON is the purveyor of my favourite Fiano in Australia. This is a sexy wine with a greengage and peach nose and a fullflavoured mid-palate. It acts like a Chardonnay in shape and size, but brings a lot of exoticism. Drink it with rich fish, chicken, turkey, pork or goose. 2017 Kurt Angerer Kies Grüner Veltliner, Niederösterreich, Austria (£12.49, virgin wines.co.uk) KURT ANGERER is one of the Grüner heroes of Austria. With white pepper and pineapple on the nose and a palate full of drama, this is an intellectual wine with huge allure. It will age well, but tastes awesome already, so crack on the minute it arrives. 2016 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Niedermenniger Riesling Kabinett, Saar, Germany (£10.50, The Wine Society, 01438 741177 and thewine society.com) I LOVE the wines from von Kesselstatt because they manage to make the lightest of Rieslings pack an incredible punch of flavour. Even though this is only a tenner, the quality is peerless.