Swaggering élan for just a fiver

2007 Domaine La Croix Belle, Caringole Blanc, Vin de Paye Ctes de Thongue, France (£5.75, Stone, Vine & Sun tel. 01962 712351 and www.stonevine.co.uk).

If last week's barbecue red wine set your palates racing, then you will not believe what I have unearthed this week. This is one of the least expensive white wines that I have featured in this column and it is the perfect summery white, which will not only lessen the pain when your credit card statement turns up, but will also impress your pals with its swaggering lan.

The pretty, floral, lightly-citrus-imbued bouquet signals a fresh and airy white wine on the nose. The palate though builds on these themes and there is a creaminess here which is unexpected. Green melon moments come and go and lighter lemon notes refresh the palate, leaving it tingling with anticipation. This is a youthful wine that should be drunk over the summer months, while all of its zippy natural acidity keeps it bursting with vim and vigour.

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La Croix Belle is a superb estate, situated not far from the famous Faugres region, in the Languedoc, and this baby white uses a rare blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to weave its magic. Imagine a blend of Chablis and Sancerre, but without any gangly, sharp knees or elbows, and you have exactly the model that Caringole is styled on and, keep this information to yourself, it's not even £6!

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year

Matthew Jukes has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006.

He has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.