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Easy-drinking whites are the order of the day, says GILES KIME. He opts for 2004 Sainsbury's Classic Selection Muscadet (4.99): 'Even those with a deep-seated prejudice against Muscadet would find it hard to deny the lightly honeyed charms of this thirst-quenching white.' Next up is 2004 Lizards of Oz Reserve Viognier (5.97; Asda), 'a crisp white from the Clare Valley with an apricot-like freshness'. Finally, he picks 2003 Gavi Madonnina Araldica (6.99; Waitrose), a 'delightful wine that is vibrant and citrussy without being overpowering'.
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JANCIS ROBINSON MW reports back from Bordeaux, and believes that the best reds will make the wine lovers of the world fall in love with tannin again'. The great thing about the tannins in the most successful 2004 red Bordeaux is that they are not bitter or rasping but refreshing. They are not the dry, obtrusive sort that characterised so many wines made in the drought year of 2003, nor the green, underripe ones that plague the least successful 2002s.' Robinson already rates the 2004 offerings from Chteaux Latour and Margaux as excellent', with honourable mentions to Cheval Blanc, Haut-Brion, Mouton and Palmer. She adds: Many winemakers the world over, and particularly in the Americas, seem scared of tannins. Perhaps the superb quality of the best Bordeaux 2004 tannins may encourage some of these producers to return to picking the grapes when a little less ripe so that the tannins are perceptible, possibly refreshing, and alcohol levels are less embarrassingly high.'
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'Antioxidant-rich' South American wines get the JONATHAN BRACEY-GIBBON treatment this week. He picks 2003 Terrazas de los Andes Malbec (9.49; Selfridges); 2003 Santa Rita Reserva Chardonnay (6.49; Sainsbury's); and 2002 Anakena Merlot (6.49; Threshers).
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Being a 'thoroughly nasty piece of work at heart', VICTORIA MOORE is cynical about branded supermarket wines. However, she is a big fan of 2004 Tesco Finest Gavi (5.99), 'a delightful wine' that 'feels like a river pebble that has been smoothed and rounded by the flow of water'. Another supermarket number that comes up trumps is 2003 Sainsbury's Classic Selection Alsace Gewurztraminer Cave de Turckheim (6.99), which displays lychees 'so clearly you can almost feel your tongue slipping over their eyeball-like white flesh'.
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ANTHONY ROSE's recommendations include 2004 Cono Sur Viognier (4.24 each when two are bought; Majestic); 2003 Vergelegen Chardonnay (7.99; Oddbins, Majestic); and 2003 The Chocolate Block (14.99; Waitrose)
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California sales may be going from strength to strength in the UK, but JANE MacQUITTY isn't impressed: Gallo's evil Sierra Valley range and Blossom Hill's foul, sickly-sweet, non-vintage duo are depressing enough, but flying off the shelves even faster are the sweeter pink or blush styles sold as white Zinfandel, with residual sugar levels easily as high as the once-popular Germans. White Zinfandel, Lord help us, is the new Liebfraumilch or Piesporter Michelsberg.' She doesn't rate the 16 Benchmark Wines, but does have time for Ravenswood's 2002 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel (6.99; Waitrose); 2002 Fetzer Valley Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon (6.99; Co-op, Sainsbury's); and 2002 Avantegarde Pinot Noir (13.99; Asda).
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To accompany Chinese food, GILES KIME selects 2004 Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Gris (6.99; Waitrose); 2004 Cono Sur Pinot Noir (4.99; Majestic); and 2003 Via Floriana Chardonnay (3.99, Sainsbury's).
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Constellation, the world's largest wine company, has posted solid figures for its first quarter results.
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The make-up of the new Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) Board has been announced by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, The Hon Tony Burke.
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Wines of Chile will be running a seminar on the second day (Wednesday May 21) of the London International Wine Fair (LIWF).
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E&J Gallo is to invest 2.5million on TV and point of sale in a bid to capitalise on the strong ros growth in the UK market.
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New Zealand producer Montana has underlined its commitment to environmentally sound packaging and processes at its vineyards and wineries.
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Australian wine is set to get back on track with its 2008 vintage, according to Adelaide-based producer Doug Lehmann, managing director of Peter Lehmann Wines.
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Villa Maria's Reserve Syrah 2006 has won the Champion Wine of Show Trophy in the 2008 Royal Easter Show.
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Chilean wine producer Luis Felipe Edwards (LFE) has launched a new website www.lfewines.com.
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Tesco has registered the highest selling Argentine wine in a new UK survey of most bought brands.
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Constellation has announced the sale of its Almaden and Inglenook wine brands for $134 million (68.5m).
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Burgundy negociant Louis Latour has taken over Beaujolais producer Henry Fessy for an undisclosed sum.
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Over 80 Villa Maria grape growers have heard the argument for increasing the imports of New Zealand Pinots into the UK market.
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Louise Hill, the face of Stratford's Wine Agencies, is quitting the company at the end of the month.
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