Connoisseur’s choice: Six wines to savour this spring, according to an expert

Expert John Clarke shares his bucket-list bottles with The Independent

These bottles hail from France, Spain, Italy and New Zealand (The Independent)

Writing to a friend, Benjamin Franklin, the 18th-century American author, scientist and politician remarked: “Wine is constant proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.” I have to agree, which is why I was more than delighted to be able to choose my own curated selection for The Independent.

To borrow a phrase from the political arena, I wanted to make it a list of all the talents – the talents involved here being the winemakers’ skill in producing wines that may differ in look and taste but that all offer superb value and quality.

There are three white wines and three reds which I hope cover the spectrum from a wine to enjoy on its own as a refreshing aperitif to one that would grace any lunch or dinner table.

Two of the bottles are from France, which is still the world’s leading wine nation; two are from Spain, where exciting new winemakers are building new reputations on the back of centuries of tradition; another is from Italy, a country whose wines are always distinctive; and the final bottle is from New Zealand – the home of vibrant New World winemaking.

Bladen Gewürtztraminer 2016

(Bladen Wines)

• Rating: 4.5/5

• ABV: 15%

• Grape: Traminer

• Region: Marlborough

• Year: 2016

• Wine style: White

• Pairs well with: Thai flavours

I am beginning with a white wine with an aroma and taste so obvious that, like a sniffer dog, any wine enthusiast should be able to spot it from a mile away. The name Gewürtztraminer translates as “spicy traminer”, traminer being the original German grape variety, and spicy it certainly is. A cool-climate grape that has been successfully introduced to New Zealand, this example, Bladen Gewürtztraminer 2016 from the family-run Bladen winery in Marlborough is chock-full of those enormously aromatic floral and fruit notes you would expect. Alongside that, there’s a whole new experience, as it hits your tastebuds with lychees, rose and even a hint of ginger, helping to make it an incredible synthesis of smell and taste. Pair it with anything Thai for a meal to remember.

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Domaine Henry Brochard Les Carisannes sauvignon blanc 2018

(Honest grapes)

• Rating: 4.5/5

• ABV: 12%

• Grape: Sauvignon blanc

• Region: Languedoc-Roussillon

• Year: 2018

• Wine style: White

• Pairs well with: Light lunches and picnic food

Next up is a wine you might expect to come from New Zealand. In fact, this sauvignon blanc comes from the grape’s original home in France’s Loire Valley. Having said that, there is a definite New World feel to the Domaine Henry Brochard Les Carisannes sauvignon blanc 2018. Sprightly and lively, this has all the gooseberry, guava and bright tropical fruit flavours you would expect allied to citrus notes and a welcome and refreshing minerality. Vinified at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks, it’s a wine to be savoured while it’s still young. Enjoy it as an aperitif or with a light lunch.

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Asorei albariño Val do Salnes 2021

(Honest grapes)

• Rating: 4.5/5

• ABV: 12.5%

• Grape: Albariño

• Region: Galicia

• Year: 2021

• Wine style: White

• Pairs well with: Sushi and light fish dishes

Spain is the most widely planted wine-producing nation on Earth. From the temperate North Atlantic coast to the sun-drenched Mediterranean, it offers a huge range of rich reds and elegant whites. It’s a white wine we want to concentrate on here: the Asorei albariño Val do Salnes 2021 from Rías Baixas in the north-west corner of the country. albariño is an interesting grape, and again one with a very distinctive and characteristic aroma – think peaches, apricots and perhaps a little citrus. On the tongue, that fruity promise doesn’t disappoint. This crisp and structured white brings flavours by the bucketload. Refreshing and lively, it can be enjoyed by itself or as a perfect match for sushi or a light fish dish.

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Corte Adami valpolicella superiore 2019

(Honest grapes)

• Rating: 4.5/5

• ABV: 14%

• Grape: Corvina

• Region: Veneto

• Year: 2019

• Wine style: Red

• Pairs well with: Cured Italian meats and risotto

Now, we move on to the reds, and a country that knows more than a little about producing some stunning red wines: Italy. No other country has such a diverse range of wine styles – whether it’s barolo, chianti or, in this case, valpolicella, the jewel of Italy’s north-west region. The Corte Adami valpolicella superiore 2019 comes from vines nearly half a century old, from the family-run Adami estate in San Martino Buon Albergo near Verona.

Made principally from the indigenous corvina grape, this wine has a little extra trick up its sleeve. The grapes are partially dried, giving the wine a texture and a consistency that others may lack. Perhaps surprisingly, the wine isn’t too heavy – it’s light bodied but incredibly flavoursome, with lots of spicy red fruit flavours offset by savoury notes and a mineral finish. It pairs perfectly with cured Italian meats or a risotto.

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Bodegas Señorio de Arana Viña del Oja Rioja Crianza 2018

(Honest Grapes)

• Rating: 4.5/5

• ABV: 14%

• Grape: Tempranillo

• Region: Rioja

• Year: 2018

• Wine style: Red

• Pairs well with: Steak

It’s Spain again next, with a superb example of perhaps the country’s most well-known red wine: rioja. The Bodegas Señorio de Arana Viña del Oja Rioja Crianza comes from the Rioja Alavesa wine region between the Ebro River and the towering Sierra Cantabria mountain range. The smallest of the three wine-producing sub-regions in Rioja, it’s an area gifted with its own microclimate, which offers protection against the prevailing Atlantic winds. Here, picked from high-altitude vineyards, are the tempranillo grapes that give this wine its distinctive strawberry and red-fruit flavours. Barrel ageing supplies it with subtle oak notes and hints of vanilla. Succulent and soft on the tongue, it’s a wine to enjoy and it will turn an ordinary tapas meal into a feast.

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Chateau Viranel arômes sauvage 2019

(Château Viranel)

• Rating: 4.5/5

• ABV: 14.5%

• Grape: Alicante bouschet

• Region: Languedoc-Roussillon

• Year: 2019

• Wine style: Red

• Pairs well with: Steak

Finally, we’re back in France for an enterprising red from the heart of Languedoc: Chateau Viranel Arômes Sauvages 2019. If it’s history you want, the Viranel family have been working the land between Minervois and Faugères in the south of France since 1551. Nowadays, it’s in the hands of winemaking brothers Arnaud and Nicolas Viranel, who have used the local alicante bouschet grape to produce a robust red that’s sauvage by name (note the wild boar on the label) but a little less wild in the glass. That’s not to say you won’t get a hit from the spicy notes of pepper and fennel, but that’s allied to softer and lusher red-fruit flavours with relaxed tannins and hints of chocolate and caramel. It’s suggested you pair it with boar or rabbit, but a good steak will do just as well.

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Looking for summer in a glass? Read our edit of the best sauvignon blancs