Last of The Summer Wines - New Zealand, Australia and Italy

Three Summery wines from around the world

The Great British summer is something of mixed and changeable thing even at the best of times. Here are three wines that are fresh enough for all but the hottest of days while also being substantial enough for the sorts of foods we need when the weather is less benign.

If you think you are all done with kiwi Sauvignon, it's time to think again; yes, this  is a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand - but not as we know it.

Plus there's a red from the rocky slopes of Tuscany and a Shiraz with its own temperature control label from Australia.

Pyramid Valley North Canterbury Sauvignon +, 2019, (£18.99 Wine Direct Hay Wines TheDrinkShop.com)

2019 Pyramid Valley North Canterbury Sauvignon + is an incredible New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but not as we know it. A blend of three different vineyards, organically produced and fermented spontaneously with natural wild yeasts in a combination of tanks, old barrels, and clay amphora and with a touch of skin contact. 

This is top class wine on a par with some of the finest French sauvignons and at a fraction of the price. Beautifully focused with concentrated palate, balanced with salinity and acidity. Vibrant and bursting with flavour of ripe melons and passionfruit, and utterly delicious.

The “+” in this Sauvignon + is for the tiny amount of Riesling and Pinot Gris is added to the blend.

florality, lifted aromatics, green apple, lime zest and spice; ripe stone fruits, melon and fresh pineapple, lemon and lime with creamy brazil nut leesiness, a touch of struck match, salinity and a pebbly minerality. Harmonious and adept; concentrated, complex and very long.

Very Good+.

A versatile food wine match with white meats, such as lighter game, pork and fowl.

Also reviewed by Tom Cannavan: Pyramid Valley, New Zealand - wine-pages

Banfi Col di Sasso 2019, (£13.99 Great Grog Bon Coeur Fine Wines Wine Direct, TheDrinkShop.com)

Banfi Col di Sasso 2019 is a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Its name translates as the ‘Stony Hill’ because the grapes come from some of the rockiest slopes on the Banfi estate. This wine is one of the best known and loved Banfi labels around the world, and is often referred to as a baby 'Super-Tuscan'.

The Cabernet Sauvignon imparts bold flavour and body, while the Sangiovese adds zesty fruit and structure. 

cherries, tobacco, old leather and spice; fresh, juicy sour cherries, soft red berry fruits, raspberry leaf, graphite and red plums; low tannins and a raspy acidity; savoury, concentrated and long.

Very Good.

Demands food; match with pizza with fresh mozzarella and basil, pasta tossed with a classic Tuscan ragù and Parmigiano Reggiano or griddled chicken, prawns or steak.

Wakefield Estate Shiraz 2019, (£13.99 Robertson Wines Wine Direct North & South Wines)

Wakefield Estate Shiraz 2019 is a multi-award-winning Shiraz straight from the heart of Clare Valley.

Wakefield is one of the most highly esteemed cool-climate producers in Australia and their Estate Shiraz is made from grapes grown on the famous terra rossa soils from the Taylor family’s vineyard where the average vine age is 10 to 30 years.

Wakefield suggests serving this delicious red a few degrees lower in temperature than usual. On the label is a unique, touch activated, temperature-sensitive gauge that indicates when the wine is at the perfect serving temperature. 

elderberry, blackberry and black plum fruit with liquorice and graphite; sweet, ripe juicy black fruits, cassis and porty menthol-eucalyptus with oaky vanilla spice, plentiful rounded tannins, inky texture and extraction; long and savoury with good underpinnings.

Very Good.

Match with red meats, such as with a grilled rib-eye steak.