Wines of the week: fresh white wines that sing of spring

1. Mendel Semillon, Mendoza, Argentina 2023

£19.99, House of Townend, Armit Wines

The flavours of good sauvignon blanc are so in tune with spring that the style becomes close to irresistible at this time of year. At its best, it’s so full of a kind of frisky sap-rising green energy, of elderflower, cut-grass, gooseberry and stony riverbed coolness, that wines such as Errazuriz Costa Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (£13.50, Waitrose), an exemplary offering from cool coastal vineyards north of Santiago in Chile, are hard to overlook. But there are plenty of contenders jostling for attention, not least the superb wines being made in many locations from sauvignon’s traditional blending partner in Bordeaux, sémillon. That includes very fine bottles such as Mendel’s lemon and camomile-scented, subtly honeyed version, made from old vines across the Andes from Chile in Argentina.

2. Mabis Biscardo Bianco di Custoza DOC, Veneto, Italy 2024

£9.82, The Fine Wine Company

Another essential location for sourcing spring-into-summer dry white wines is northeastern Italy. The two most famous styles from this corner of the country – those made from pinot grigio in Trentino and the garganega-based wines of the Soave zone in the Veneto – have developed a reputation for blandness but, when they’re good, both styles can be every bit as joyful as sauvignon. Three I’ve enjoyed already this spring are the cool-stream fluent, greengage, yellow plum and fennel-scented Cantina Lavis Pinot Grigio I Classici 2024 from Trentino (£15.69, House of Townend), the blossomy fragrance, soft pear and genteel acidity of Gianni Tessari Soave 2023 (£15.95); and the racy energy of the Biscardo family’s white blend from vines near Lake Garda.

3. Herdade de São Miguel Colheita Seleccionada Branco, Alentejo, Portugal 2023

£14.95, Cheers

On the other side of Europe, Spain’s green northwest in Galicia offers wines made from albariño. Majestic has a particularly good example on its books in the shape of Villarei Sobre Lías Albariño, Rías Baixas 2023 (£16), a wine that offers sea-breezy saltiness and pink grapefruit zestiness, along with soft juicy white peach and just a hint of white flowers and herbs – as good as it gets with seafood. They do a neat line in albariño, or alvarinho, over the border from Galicia in Portugal’s Vinho Verde, too, although a current Portuguese white favourite of mine comes from further south. Herdade de São Miguel’s branco is richer in fruit – ripe peach verging on mango – and texture than the rest of this week’s choices, but the subtle floral fragrance, lightness of alcohol (12.5%) and coursing fresh acidity still sings of spring.