What to drink this week

Mature whites for an Indian summer

Does the beginning of September mark the start of autumn or the end of summer—or even the beginning of an Indian summer? Maybe Keats had the answer in his wonderful Ode to Autumn, which seems to be as much about maturing and ripening as about what the Americans call fall. Keats named this golden season ‘close bosom-friend of the maturing sun’, so I take my cue from him and offer a selection of mature white wines, where the initial ripeness of the grapes has been gracefully enhanced by a few years of development in the bottle.

Certain whites benefit enormously from bottle age, believes Harry Eyres

Why you should be drinking them

Many people seem puzzled by the notion that white wines can mature and develop as well as reds. In my view, good white Burgundy and Champagne—and less likely candidates, such as Spanish Albariño and Italian Orvieto —benefit enormously from bottle age.

What to buy

At a tasting of a range from the 96-acre Drouhin-vaudon estate in Chablis, the wine that stood out for me was the Drouhin Vaudon Grand Cru Bougros 2014 (£215 per six DP; www.finewine services.co.uk). A beautiful greenishgold in colour, this still seemed youthful—at the beginning of maturity— with great tension and stony purity. Albariño from the rías of Spanish Galicia has become quite popular in the UK, but is normally drunk fresh and young. Its considerable ageing potential is demonstrated by Pazo de Señorans Selección de Añada Albariño 2007 (right, £39.50; www. thewinesociety.com), again greengold in colour, unfurling a full and complex peaches-and-honey aroma, then exceptional depth and complexity on the palate. Calcaia Muffa Nobile Orvieto Classico Superiore 2015 (£25 per 50cl; www.thewine society.com) is a rarity—a sweet, botrytis-affected Orvieto, deep gold in colour, with great freshness, as well as restrained richness.