I mentioned last month how, in a change of format, the London Wine Fair had moved back from the wastelands of Excel to its old home of Kensington Olympia. This year, the Wine Gang, of which I am one, was charged with hosting a pop-up tasting of 50 of our best value wines of the year to date. We chose 10 wines each and since it was one of the successes of the fair (I know, I would say that, wouldn’t I), I thought it useful to cherry pick a small selection of the most summery and best value wines from the pop-up tasting. For the full list, check out the link at the end.

Significantly, we kicked off with three English sparklers and no champagnes. The three Cuvée Brits were a rich and apple-bitey 2009 Furleigh Estate, £22.65, Four Walls Wine, a tangy, dry 2009 Digby Fine English Brut Reserve, £39.99, Selfridges, and, my personal favourite, the brilliantly rich, creamy and intense newcomer, 2010 Langham Wines Estate Classic Brut Cuvée, from Dorset, £22, which triumphed over 93 other English sparkling wines at the ‘Judgment of Parsons Green’ earlier this year. More on the rise of English fizz next week.

In simple, refreshing summery vein, we put forward the 2013 Duo des Mers, Sauvignon-Viognier, £6.50, The Wine Society, the crisp, spritz-fresh, melony, seafood-friendly 2012 Wittmann 100 Hills Dry Pinot Blanc, £11.50, Oddbins, a super-fragrant and intensely lime-zesty 2010 Isolation Ridge Riesling from Frankland Estate in Western Australia, £17.99, AG Wines, and a surprisingly convincing, refreshingly peardroppy 2013 The Exquisite Collection Côtes de Provence Rosé, £5.99, Aldi.

Pay a little more and you’ll find in the 2011 Rudolf Fürst Silvaner Pur Mineral from Franconia, £22.45, Bancroft Wines, a dry white of considerable stonefruit weight and flavour, yet sophisticated in its mineral, dry finish, while Chanson’s wonderful 2013 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Caradeux, £37.50, El Vino, is a meursault in all but name, immensely rich with the nutty complexity of a fine white Burgundy crafted by the stirring of the lees in barrel. And, calling all sherry lovers, I have little doubt that the salty-yeasty-fresh Bodegas Hidalgo Pastrana Manzanilla Pasada, £15, Majestic, will float many a boat this summer.

To reds, where bargains are to be found in the elegantly claret-like 2012 Domaine de Gournier Rouge, Vin de Pays des Cévennes, £8.15, Haynes, Hanson & Clark, and the fragrantly strawberryish 2013 Cramele Recas Calusari Pinot Noir from Romania’s Ville Timisului, £6.99, Hennings Wine Merchant. On a more serious note, don’t miss out on the surprisingly loganberry-juicy and peppery 2010 Anton Bauer Feuersbrunn Zweigelt, Wagram, £13.50, Vinoteca, or the richly concentrated red pepper and cassis-laden 2010 Pulenta Gran Cabernet Franc, £22, winetrust100.co.uk. Start your summer countdown here with the full list on anthonyrosewine.com.

Something for The Weekend

Night In

2013 Taste the Difference Grüner Veltliner

One of the best value dry whites in Sainsbury’s reliable Taste the Difference range, this Austrian dry white shows vivid fresh pear aromas and flavours with a trademark whiff of white pepper and appetizingly juicy dry finish. £7.50, Sainsbury’s.

Dinner party

2012 Crozes Hermitage Les Saviaux, Domaine Michel Poinard

Vivid in youthful purple, this northern Rhône syrah shows the classic tar and pepper perfume and an elegant raspberryish, herb-infused fruit quality that’s both juicy and spicy at the same time. £15.99, buy 2 = £11.99. Majestic.

Splash Out

2012 Yabby Lake Vineyard Single Vineyard Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula

A brilliant chardonnay whose price is matched by the intensity of flavour and complexity of seamless melon and peach fruitiness, tempered by a nutty elegantly dry, Burgundian-style. £35, Swig, £30, in bond, 6, Lay & Wheeler.

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