Wines of the week

Lick of vanilla

Waitrose, Loved & Found Castelão, Lisboa, Portugal 2019. £6.99, Waitrose, alc 13.5% The Loved & Found wines are all priced at below £10 and showcase lesser-known grapes. Castelão produces easy-drinking wines with soft, ripe tannins and flavours of red and black plum and brambly blackberry, with a lick of vanilla from time in French and American oak.

Pear, apple and peach

Fattoria San Francesco, Cirò Bianco, Calabria, Italy 2020. £13.50, Jeroboams, alc 12.5% A brilliantly versatile white from the toe of Italy, made with 100% Greco Bianco, this is fresh with lifted aromas of pear, apple and peach. There is a lovely creaminess on the palate, soft and velvety smooth with a mouthwatering juiciness balanced by excellent acidity. A brilliant option for aperitifs or with light meals —and lighter than many in terms of alcohol. Easy to recommend.

Juicy and ripe

Sainsbury’s, Discovery Collection Côtes de Beaunevillages, Burgundy, France 2019. £18, Sainsbury’s, alc 14.5% From 20- to 60-year-old Pinot Noir vines. Perfumed berry aromas, with a hint of sweet cedar. Juicy and ripe; good depth of fruit—cherries and fruits of the forest—balanced by fresh acidity, with well-judged oak and smooth tannins.

Buttery palate

Simpsons, The Roman Road Chardonnay, Kent, England 2020. £26, Simpsons Wine Estate, alc 12%

An expressive nose of vanilla and honeydew melon dusted with crushed stone and elderflower pollen. Buttery on the palate, the salinity and high acids provide a lively thrust to the ripe yellow fruits. Lime zest and discreet wood follow to a clean finish.