This is the first of four Wine Wednesdays with William in which I’ll be giving recommendations for holiday wines. First up: whites! Below are eight white wines that offer interest, value and sheer deliciousness to any holiday party. The prices listed are the cost of each wine in the Wine Room at Putnam Market and include sales tax. Other stockists (retailers that carry the wines) can be found on wine-searcher.com.
2015 La Forge Estate Chardonnay
Pays D’Oc IGP, France
This wine is barrel fermented and oak aged for three months. It has plenty of creamy oak and sweet spice, with ripe tropical fruits on the palate. This is an international style of chardonnay and none the worse for that. ($14)
2015 Poppy Chardonnay
Santa Lucia Highlands, California
This wine features classic aromas of ripe citrus fruit, golden apple, melon and rich tropical notes. The wine has richness balanced by bright acidity, with sweet vanilla and a touch of toasted oak. ($17)
2016 Carl Loewen Alte Reben Riesling
Mosel, Germany
Coming from vines up to nearly 70 years old, the Alte Reben is dominated by a stony and chalky minerality with a fine nuance of quinine. It’s rich, off-dry, deep and full of lovely ripe lemon and apricot fruit. Delicious depths give way to a sour freshness on the finish. ($22)
2016 Weingut Keller Riesling Limestone
Rheinhessen, Germany
This white is deep and almost savory with rocky spice as well as smoky lime finesse. It has both remarkable intensity and sharp-edged citrus purity. There’s sweetness, but the balance is perfect with the cutting-edge freshness. It’s almost impossible to put down. ($24)
2016 Granbazan Etiqueta Verde
Rías Baixas, Spain
This Albariño, in the classic style of the Salnés Valley, is from the heart of the Rías Baixas. Salty iodine aromas underpin the peach and apricot fruit making the palate perfectly balanced. Viscous with creamy texture and weight, the acidity is very well integrated and that salty and mineral aftertaste is this wine’s hallmark. ($16)
2016 Schloss Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner
Kamptal, Austria
This wine is extremely fragrant, seductive and delicate on the nose. It’s compact yet lively and crisp on the palate with a stone fruit character underpinned with subtle white pepper and spice that meanders into a racy finish. Anyone who enjoys Loire Valley sauvignon, or Alto Adige pinot grigio will be enamored by this. ($16)
2016 Matošević Malvasija Istarska
Istria, Croatia
The vineyards this wine hails from are situated on the west coast of Istria, just 50 miles away from Venice and a few miles inland from the Adriatic Sea. Alluring aromas of chamomile, acacia, lime zest, quince, pear, apricot and ripe nectarine give the wine an incredibly crisp acidity beautifully balanced by the slightest touch of sweetness. The finish is marked by a tremendous minerality. ($18)
2016 Badenhorst “Secateurs” Chenin Blanc
Swartland, South Africa
This wine is packed with honeyed aromas of stone fruits. The palate has a full-bodied texture with some ginger spice before an extended, mouth-filling finish. It’s truly a great all-round wine for this holiday season. ($13)
