Pierre Paillard, Les Parcelles 13 grand cru extra brut champagne
Bouzy, France

Notes: A grower’s champagne, made by a small house and at the apex of a movement that is gaining speed. Full flavoured and delicious.

Cost: €30

Henriques & Henriques, 10-year-old sercial madeira
Câmara de Lobos, Portugal

Notes: This rich, fortified, tawny-hued wine is a revelation served cool. Its nutty notes and creamy texture goes well with a good cheddar.

Cost: €23

Equipo Navazos, La Bota de Fino No 54 Macharnudo Alto sherry
Jerez, Spain

Notes: Two young men have sourced sherry from small makers and bottled it themselves. The result is extraordinary and has buoyed the sherry trend.

Cost: €31

Zalze, bush vine chenin blanc, 2017
Stellenbosch, South Africa

Notes: Expect crisp tropical fruit and a hint of lime zest. Try with spicy seafood dishes, such as chilli prawns.

Cost: €10

Franz Hirtzberger, Honivogl Smaragd grüner veltliner, 2011
Wachau, Austria

Notes: This is Austria’s signature grape. Franz makes a wine as good as – often better than – most great white burgundies. Glorious stuff.

Cost: €59

Trimbach, Frédéric Emile riesling cuvée, 2010
Alsace, France

Notes: Alsace’s pre-eminent producer of dry elegant riesling. Also try the Clos St Hune riesling, which many consider to be the greatest in the world.

Cost: €42 and €172

Catena, chardonnay, 2016
Mendoza, Argentina

Notes: Ripe, fresh and fruity with a touch of oak. Wonderfully quaffable stuff.
Cost: €14

Camel Valley, bacchus dry, 2016
Camel Valley, England

Notes: Somewhat similar to a sauvignon blanc and very refreshing. Camel Valley also produces a delicious sparkling wine.

Cost: €16

Tyrrell’s, Hunter Valley semillon, 2015
Hunter Valley, Australia

Notes: One of the greatest semillons in Australia. This is a wonderful sipper at an unbelievably reasonable price.

Cost: €17

Château-Fuissé, Pouilly-Fuissé Tête de Cru, 2015
Burgundy, France

Notes: White burgundy from the top producer in Mâcon-Fuissé. This is powerful, intense and affordable.

Cost: €20

Greywacke, wild sauvignon blanc, 2014
Marlborough, New Zealand

Notes: Both rich and crisp, this is one of New Zealand’s finest, courtesy of the winemaker who previously made Cloudy Bay such a widely exported wine.

Cost: €26

Pheasant’s Tears, rkatsiteli, 2011
Kakheti, Georgia

Notes: This wine is aged in qvevri: traditional terracotta vessels buried in soil. The taste is of earthy apricots, which goes well with chicken or duck dishes.

Cost: €21

Domaines Ott, Château Romassan Bandol rosé, 2011
Provence, France

Notes: This is a great wine: a crisp, dry but silky mouthful with a delicate, floral nose. There are rosés and then there’s this.

Cost: €29

Ridge, Monte Bello, 2008
Santa Cruz Mountains, California

Notes: A distinguished cabernet-led wine, this is elegant and harmonious. If older vintages are available, drink them too.

Cost: €169

Marqués de Murrieta, Castillo de Ygay Gran Reserva Especial, rioja, 2005
Rioja, Spain

Notes: Magnificently long-lasting wine, deep, brooding, with savoury fruit and a long finish.

Cost: €72

Alain Graillot et Thalvin, syrah du Maroc Tandem, 2015
Benslimane, Morocco

Notes: Fragrant, fruity and full-flavoured wine that shows the Maghreb deserves a place at the top table too.

Cost: €15

Montes, Outer Limits pinot noir, 2015
Zapallar Coast, Chile

Notes: Fragrant, with spice and fruit, this is a lovely wine with a lightly carried but unexpectedly high alcohol content.

Cost: €20

Château Musar, Gaston Hochar, 2003
Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Notes: Even in the middle of the country’s civil war, the grapes were picked. Wait 15 years and decant: expect fruit, tobacco, herbs, depth and length.

Cost: €26

Gaia Estate, agiorgitiko, 2013
Nemea, Greece

Notes: Fragrant with fruit and spice, this becomes more savoury as it’s drunk. Also try the delicious white Wild Ferment assyrtiko from Santorini.

Cost: €25

Mas Jullien, Terrasses du Larzac, 2009
Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Notes: Deep, dark and intense, with rich notes of herbs and fruit. This is utterly delicious and will keep for donkey’s years.

Cost: €36

Joh Jos Prüm, Wehlener Sonnenuhr riesling auslese, 2005
Mosel, Germany

Notes: Lushly sweet but with a shot of crisp acidity throughout, this has all the subtlety of a true aged riesling. Drink chilled as an aperitif or with an apple tart or cheese.

Cost: €88

Château Bouscassé, Brumaire Doux, 2011
Hautes-Pyrénées, France

Notes: Toast and honey, orange-blossom water, ethereal sweetness shot through with acid: this wine has been called phenomenal and that won’t change any time soon.

Cost: €39