Campo Viejo Rioja Blanco 2015

From Rioja, Spain
Grape - Viura, Tempranillo
Alcohol - 12% abv
Available from - Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco, Sainsbury's
Price - £7.50-£8.50 (although at time of writing, £6.36 at Waitrose)

Appearance - Clear, medium- intensity, lemon-green

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, youthful.  Stone fruit of white peach, floral (elderflower)

Palate - Dry, high acid, medium intensity and length, medium+ body, medium alcohol.  Flavours as nose, plus lemon citrus.

Good quality.  Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

This wine has a very agreeable bouquet, and a good acid backbone.  Ideal with lighter meals.  I would drink this as an aperitif or with an avocado salad with balsamic vinegar.

De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2016

From - Durbanville, SA
Grape - Sauvignon Blanc
Alcohol - 13.5%
Available from - Waitrose, waitrosecellar.com, Ocado
Price - £11.99 (although £8.99 until Tuesday at Waitrose)

Appearance - Clear, lemon-green, medium- intensity

Nose - Clean, medium intensity, green fruits of pear and gooseberry, herbal (nettle).  Youthful.

Palate - Dry, high acid, medium+ alcohol, full bodied, medium+ length, medium+ intensity.  As nose, plus stone fruit and minerality.

Very good quality, drink now.

Delicious Sauvignon Blanc can be found outside of Loire, Bordeaux and Marlborough, as this award-winning example demonstrates.  This is a classy wine, with real weight in the mouth, a little bit more alcohol than you might find elsewhere, and agreeable complexity.