Dry white wines are one of Bordeaux's best kept secrets, with quality consistently high and the 2014 vintage showing particularly well. Tina Gellie picks 12 to try before summer is out. There were murmurs around the 2014 Bordeaux vintage that it was one of the best ever in recent times for dry whites. This is partly down to a healthy vintage, but arguably more so thanks to the work of Professor Denis Dubourdieu and his team of oenologists at the University of Bordeaux, which leads the world in Sauvignon Blanc research. This grape is at the heart of most dry whites from the appellations of Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Entre-Deux-Mers, Côtes de Bordeaux and Bordeaux, but Semillon is increasingly used as the dominant variety especially in wines that see some oak. Dollops of Muscadelle and Sauvignon Gris add complexity and interest. Here are 12 great value Bordeaux dry white wines for everyday drinking now and over the next two years. Château Lestrille Capmartin, Bordeaux 2012

UK stockist: £14 The Good Wine Shop Score: 17.75 /20 (92/100) Blend of Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Lean and focused, well-integrated spicy oak with a smoky, toasty edge to the ripe citrus fruits. Has good weight and texture; Try also the unoaked Sauvignon Blanc-Muscadelle (£10.99 Thames Food & Wine). Château Doisy-Daëne, Bordeaux 2014 UK stockist: £9.17 in bond, Grand Vin Wine Merchants US stockist: $17 European Wine Resource (Ca)A delicious dry white from Denis Dubourdieu’s Barsac estate. Fresh, zesty, bright and herbal with a lovely tight palate of lime and minerals. Try also the stablemate Clos Floridène (£19, The Wine Society). Château Mont Pėrat, Bordeaux 2012 UK stockist from £9, Fine & Rare US stockist $15.99, Grand Vin Wine Merchants Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle. Bit of botrytis adds complexity to the textured, weighty palate. The Muscadelle comes through with a floral, grapey lift but not in a cloying way.

Château Baret, Pessac-Lėognan 2011 Suggest Stockist: €19.2 (£13.6) XO-Vin (France)The oak is prominent but rich, but ripe fruit backs it up. Fresh and floral juicy palate with a focused mouthfeel and a fine, long finish. Admirable complexity thanks to a few years of bottle age. Château des Perligues, Graves 2014 Stockist: €7.95  Vinatis (France) US stockist (2011 vintage): $10.95 Empire Wine (NY)Big, ripe and limey with racy acidity. Nice texture and weight with good freshness and minerality. Creamy finish with a floral lift. A nice food wine. Château St-Jean-des-Graves, Graves 2014 UK stockist: £8.49 WaitroseFrom the Sauternes property Château Liot, here botrytis adds complexity to the juicy, ripe, weighty palate. Interesting style that even though dry would be nice with foie gras or blue cheese. Semillon comes through strongly. Château Argadens, Bordeaux 2014 UK stockist: £8.95 The Wine Society (currently out of stock) US stockist: $12.99 Marketview Liquor (NY)

From Maison Sichel, in the same stable as Châteaux Palmer and Angludet. Fresh lime leaf aromas reveal a good percentage of Semillon. Great acidity – tart and tight. The grassy style is very good. Château Haut Rian, Entre-Deux-Mers 2013 UK stockist: £10.99 The Wine Company (2013 vintage)Very tropical passion fruit and melon characters on the nose and palate, thanks to the warmer site here by the Garonne. high end wine kitsA friendly style – ripe and long – with balanced grassy and herbal notes. where to buy canadian wine in london Dourthe, La Grand Cuvėe, Bordeaux 2014one hope wine whole foods UK stockist: £8.99 Waitrosebuy european wine online

US stockist: $10.95 Sherry-Lehman (NY)A stalwart from Dourthe. Aged on fine lees for six months with some battonage, this is an exotic, tropical style of Sauvignon Blanc with lifts of bright, zesty, grapefruit acidity on the crisp palate. Le Fleur Baron, Bordeaux 2014 UK stockist: £8.50 Asda (listing via mysupermarket.co.uk)Calvet is a big, reliable producer and at times you can find this wine for as little as £5, which makes it superb value. best website to ship wineMuted nose at first but then opens to grassy, grapefruit notes. the best dry red winesBalanced and bright palate with perky acidity. Château des Tourtes, Sauvignon Blanc, Blaye-Côtes de Bordeaux 2014 UK stockist: £9.50 The French Wine ProjectThis comes from a 7ha plot of 15-year-old vines. It still tastes very young, showing spiky nettles and green fruit with fresh, zesty acidity.

Ripe palate with a grapefruit finish. Chai de Bordes, Bordeaux 2014 UK stockist: £10 Dulwich Vintners (2013 vintage)Clean, fresh and crisp with both varietals showing their faces. Young, tight palate with green fruit freshness and soft florals. An easy-drinking Bordeaux Blanc. Stockist searches aided by Wine-Searcher. (Editing by Chris Mercer)When it comes to Christmas, it's important to have a good stock of wine. While Christmas might immediately conjure up images of warming glasses of red by the fire, white wines are just as important - for parties, for moments when you need something crisp and refreshing, and for a spot of afternoon drinking too (well, it is Christmas...) Here are 10 fantastic bottles of white, at a range of prices, for the festive period. I've also written a more comprehensive best red wines for Christmas and ultimate guide to 12 star buys. Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico, Pontemagno 2013 Italy (12.5%, Haynes Hanson & Clark, £7.25/£6.38)

Crisp, pinprick-sharp, herbaceous, a tiny bit astringent, lemony … a classic dry Italian white from the hills of Le Marche. Asda has the same wine under a different label, Piersanti Verdicchio, for £8. Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2013 France (13%, Majestic, £8.66 down from £12.99 when you buy two) I tried to omit this but knew picpoul fans would need to know where to get their fix of refreshing, saline white. Tesco’s is on offer at £5.99, but this is better. But don’t pay £12.99 – it’s not worth it. Thymiopoulos Malagouzia 2013 Greece (12%, M&S, £9) Those who like unoaked, light whites might enjoy this Greek white made from the malagousia grape. Like the gentle taste of pear poached with a bit of cinnamon stick. Overall refreshing and aqueous, but rounded compared to the prickle of an Italian white. Domaine Cauhape 2013 Jurancon Sec France (14%, The Wine Society, £9.50 for 75cl or £4.95 for 37.5cl) Dry white made from gros manseng and the local camaralet which I’d never heard of and is apparently nearly extinct, this smells a bit like a sauvignon gris and tastes like a more buttery, less facile sauvignon blanc.

Domaine Aubert Vouvray Sec 2012 France (13.5%, Yapp.co.uk, £12.25) The honeyed, apple tang of chenin blanc feels just right in cold weather. This is textbook stuff – racy and practically vibrating with tense energy. Dry-ish (just a hint of sweetness). Try with roast pork and apple sauce, or goose. Palacio de Fefiñanes Albariño 2013 Spain (12.5%, Waitrose, £12.79 down from £15.99 until December 30) One of the best albariños from Spain’s Atlantic coast and comes in a beautiful pale green flute of a bottle. Clear, cool, tinged with the flavour of apricot kernels, refreshing. Albariño loves a wintry plate of seafood. Jackson Estate Stich Sauvignon Blanc 2013 New Zealand (13%, Waitrose, £9.95 down from £13.29 until December 30) Infinitely superior to most other Marlborough sauvignons at its level. Broad and juicy, tastes like sipping a vinous green gooseberry, white peach and elderflower sorbet. Stepp Riesling *S* Kallstadter Saumagen 2013 Pfalz, Germany (12.5%, M&S, £15) Gerd Stepp used to blend wine for M&S.