Exotic white wine

Our wine expert, Tim Atkin, chooses some great white wines from all around the world

1 2007 Gascogne Cuvée Spéciale, Cotes de Gascogne (£4.99, Marks & Spencer)
Blended from Colombard with a little Ugni Blanc, this is typical of the value-for-money white produced in the Gascony region of south-west France, with sappy, grapefruity aromas and lip-smacking acidity.

2 2007 Tagus Creek Portuguese White, Falua (£5.25, Morrisons)
Half of this wine is made from Chardonnay (partly to add a more familiar dimension to a Portuguese white), but it's the musky Fernão Pires that provides the perfume and the exoticism here. Great value!

3 2006 Extra Special Alsace Gewürztraminer (£6.98, Asda)
If you like Alsace Gewürz, you'll struggle to find a better one than this at the price. It's rich and creamy with spicy, rose petal, hand cream and Turkish Delight notes, and enough acidity to stop it being mawkish.

4 2007 Estiba 1 Torrontés, Bodegas Esmeralda, Mendoza (£6.99, or £4.99 each for two, Majestic)
Torrontés didn't originate in Argentina, but it's become the country's adopted white grape. This is a rich white with masses of ripe, grapey fruit, crisp acidity and a spicy ginger note.

5 2007 Taste the Difference Grüner Veltliner, Markus Hüber (£7.49, Sainsbury's)
It used to be hard to find good Grüner Veltliner outside Austria, but there's quite a bit around now. This is crisp and refreshing with notes of peach and pepper.

6 2007 Leitz Eins Zwei Dry Reisling, Rheingau (£8.99, Oddbins)
If you can ignore the slightly grating German pun, this is a really interesting dry Riesling, with real focus, floral aromas and intense, almost stony flavours.

7 2007 Laurent Miquel Verité Viognier, Vin de Pays d'Oc (£12.99, Waitrose)
This might seem a little pricey, but it's actually wonderful value for a Viognier of this quality, with subtle vanilla oak, a creamy texture and notes of aniseed, apricot and buttered toast. Heavenly!

8 2006 Gérard Bertrand Classic Dry Muscat, Vin de Pays d'Oc (£5.49, Tesco)
The Languedoc-Roussillon area of southern France specialises in sweet, fortified Muscats, but the dry, unfortified versions can be just as good. This one is perfumed and refreshing.

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NB: Prices correct at the time of publication

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