Pullus Laski Rizling 2011, Stajerska, Slovenia (£9.95 Winety)
Smells quite full, with floral notes and cooked apple richness, but when you come to taste it, there’s also a crisp, stony mineral edge to bring some decorum and delicacy to all those rich ripe flavours. B
Pullus Beli Pinot 2011, Stajerska, Slovenia (£9.95 Winety)
Quite a rich, musky style, with weighty pearskin and peach character to the fore but as with the Laski Rizling, there’s also a tauter mineral edge, plus some tangy citrus acidity. B+
La Grille Chenin Blanc NV, Loire, France (£7.99 Majestic)
Smelled as if there might be a touch of rot in here, but I don’t notice it as much when I taste it. Quite a shy style, there some classic Chenin apple and lemon freshness with a touch of quince, but there’s also a touch of the cheese rind. But OK rather than great. C+
Liberty Fairtrade Chenin Blanc 2013, Western Cape, South Africa (£8.99 The Hampstead Butcher & Providore, Thedrinkshop.com)
Has the classic warmer climate Chenin flavours of citrus, guava and apple, but there’s also a Sauvignon-like grassy note to add interest. Really nice, confident style of wine, full in flavour, but light in body. S-
Fairview Darling Chenin Blanc 2013, South Africa (£10.99 SA Wines Online, Noble Green Wines, Latitude Wine, House of Menzies, Carruthers & Kent, Liberty Wines)
A richer but more backward style than the Liberty, similar flavours of guava, ripe red apple and ripe citrus, with a richer, nutty oatmeal character too. It seems quite full and fleshy, but give it time to open up, and a more serious spine of acidity and minerality kicks in. S(-)
Casa Silva Viognier Reserva 2012, Colchagua, Chile (£10.95 Addisons, Arkells, Averys, Bablake Wines, Caviste, Fine Wines Direct, Michael Jobling Wines, Arthur Rackham, Palmers Brewery, Charles Steevenson Wines, Sandhams Wine Merchants, Xander Wines, The Derbyshire Wine Co, Roberts & Speight)
You saw me struggle to get into the bottle. I eventually did, thanks to a combination of Stanley knife and pliers, and found a wine that was on the lighter, more refreshing side of Viognier, with a reasonable amount of perfumed citrus and nectarine flesh, but not quite enough of the exotic allure that I look for with the grape. If I want crispness and subtlety, I don’t choose Viognier… B