Here’s an insider tip-off passed to me recently by Jancis Robinson MW that I just had to share…

Côtes du Roussillon Blanc, Domaine Lafage, Cuvée Centenaire, France 2006. 13.5%

Domaine Lafage’s estate in Roussillon has 138 hectares of vines. These are grown in France’s deep south, around the town of Perpignan which is down by the Spanish border. Owners Jean-Marc Lafage and Eliane Salinas-Lafage are clearly both skilled and ambitious, and their range of different mountain and seaside vineyard locations give them the opportunity to make red, white and dessert wines. These are carefully made, represent great value and are also hugely enjoyable and distinctive.

Cuvée Centenaire is a blend, made with 70% Grenache Blanc plus 20% Rousanne and 10% Maccabeu. And get this – these Grenache vines are over 100 years old! They yield only a tiny crop of grapes but the upside is that they have very concentrated and complex flavours. 30% of the wine was also fermented in barrel with extensive lees stirring to add more complexity. The rest was made in tank to preserved fresh acids, as keeping this silvery-yellow wine zingy and fresh is an important consideration with such ripe grapes and a hot climate.

As a result, there are big aromas to be had, a tropical nose – pineapple in particular, backed by a very attractive saline quality. Then there’s a big mouthful of fruit, well balanced to good fresh acidity and moderate alcohol. The crisp texture also has a little roundness from the barrel ferment. Delightfully, there is no obvious wood impact. Those ripe fruit flavours come across as pineapple and canned peach syrup – real intensity, complexity and fruit depth for the money! There’s persistence too, a final honeysuckle note accompanied by the reappearance of the tiny bit of saltiness first noticed on the nose.

All that makes for absolutely delicious summer drinking, a lovely wine with simply grilled fish, a salad, or just on its own.

£4.99 at Waitrose. This is a promotional price with 20% off, but brilliant value at full price and frankly drinks like it easily costs a tenner.

For red wine lovers Waitrose also stock the matching Lafage red – Cuvée Authentique (a blend of Syrah, Grenache Noir and Carignan) for the same price. This is also heartily recommended, especially for BBQ’s or with roasted veggies.

Why buy big industrial wine brands when you can have these? Don’t miss out.

For further information on wine selection and tasting take a look at our client Paul Howard's website www.winealchemy.com, who kindly supplied the review .