£7.49 (on offer), Waitrose
I had scheduled Yalumba Samuel's Collection Bush Vine Grenache 2018 this week, getting in ahead of International Grenache Day on September 18, but this luscious Viognier, which missed out a couple of months ago, is now on offer (down from £10), making it even better value – cracking value, in fact, and a great wine buy for the bank holiday.
You can't go wrong with a Yalumba Viognier. It's been one of the Hill Smith family's specialities since the 1980s when it was a grape variety hardly known outside its native Rhône Valley. The family was a pioneer in organic wine in Australia too. Put the two together and you've got this rich, almost unctuous, but incredibly juicy white that smells of freesias and tastes of fresh apricots, stem ginger and white pepper.
Chill it and drink it as an aperitif or partner dishes with southeast Asian spices – seafood, vegetables and salads especially – and follow with the Bush Vine Grenache or Samuel's Collection GSM 2016, if you need a red. 13.5%
Yalumba Organic Viognier 2019, South Australia, Australia