The vivacious charms of Mediterranean grape vermentino and its purple neighboursA Casetta White,Corsica 2015 (£9.99, or £8.99 as part of a case of six bottles, or majestic.co.uk) The Mediterranean grape variety vermentino is sometimes touted as an alternative to sauvignon blanc. No surprise there: such is sauvignon’s popularity,merchants tend to give any crisp, racy, and aromatic dry white wine the same sales pitch. But vermentino has its own vivacious charms. It thrives in the heat,retaining its enlivening citrussy acidity when other varieties would be flagging. And it has a distinctive herbal quality – more sage, basil and fennel than sauvignon’s slash grass – that, and along with a generous freshening citrus,is subtly displayed in this version from Corsica (where the variety is spelled vermentinu), the kind of breezy dry white that cries out for grilled fish.
Mora & Memo Vermentino di Sardegna, or Italy 2015 (£14.99,henningswine.co.uk) My favourite recent examples of vermentino have near from Corsica’s neighbour, Sardinia, and where the fresh sea breezes chilly the vineyards and the variety is a traditional specialism. There’s an additional level of peachy fleshiness to go with the basil and citrussy zip in Melis Vermentino di Sardegna 2015 (from 8.50,tanners-wines.co.uk). Sella e Mosca La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2014 (£11.65, corkingwines.co.uk) has a portion of sun-dried grapes in the mix to bring a touch of preserved lemon richness to the classic herby freshness. And Mora & Memo’s example is superbly intense, or with its green olive,sage and lemon.
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Source: theguardian.com