White
Basa, Rueda, 1997 (all Superquinns, £5.39; also Kellys Clontarf, O'Donovans, Cork). A tangy, fresh taste of summer from the young Spanish iconoclast, Telmo Rodriguez. See Bottle Of The Week.
Domaine de l'Hortus, Coteaux du Languedoc, 1997 (Wines Direct, £7.85).
Thrilling is the only word for this one. Redolent of peaches and ripe lemons, it's like walking past the fruit stalls in a Mediterranean market. Chardonnay and Viognier with a dash of Sauvignon Blanc - from Languedoc wizard Jean Orliac. Pieropan Soave Classico Superiore 1996 (leading Superquinns, £9.39).
I'm still preaching the gospel of good, fat, round Soave - at least for as long as this outstanding example is with us. Matthews reckons Nino Pieropan makes "some of the world's best whites". Here's a great chance to taste one at a relatively modest price.
Domaine Emilian Gillet Macon-Vire, 1995 (Wines Direct, £14.75).
Can Macon really be that exciting? Yes! Jean Thevenet picks his grapes late, so the first traces of noble rot impart a streak of honey. "The reason he is so great," says Matthews, "is that he has reinvented Chardonnay in a world which, taking its cue from the styles of Meursault and the Cote d'Or, has been turning it into a formula of toasted oak and butteriness. His version is clean, shimmering, floral . . ."
Red
Les Terrasses de Guilhem, Vin de Pays de l'Herault, 1996 (O'Briens Fine Wines, £5.25 and some other outlets).
Matthews finds "this dark and characterful Carignan-based blend" the best of the wines Aime Guibert, the great pioneer of fine winemaking in the Languedoc, makes the local Villeveyrac co-op. It's also a favourite of this column, offering terrific value.
Domaine d'Aupilhac Lou Maset, Vin de Pays du Mont Baudile 1996 (Searsons, Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, £6.60-6.99).
A muscular, earthy southerner, chockfull of sunbaked fruit flavours - rather like a French riposte to Italy's Salice Salentino. From talented young Languedoc winemaker Sylvain Fadat.
Chateau Mourgues du Gres Costieres de Nimes 1997 (McCabes, Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, Raheny Wine Cellar, Mill Maynooth and other outlets, also direct from James Nicholson, usually about £6.99).
Raspberries, loganberries, smouldering rubber? . . . A dark, smokey, punchy southern French red - a blend of Syrah and Grenache from energetic grower Francois Collard. ees (acute on 1st e) Beaujolais, Cuvee (acute 1st e) a (grave) l'Ancienne, 1996 (Wines Direct,£7.75).
Gone off Beaujolais years ago? Try this and be reconverted. No fruity lightweight: though delicious raspberry flavours are there in abundance, Jean-Paul Brun's individualistic approach ensures a more serious wine, half way to Pinot Noir.