Wines made from grapes with unusual origins

London Cru SW6 Red Wine 1 (£15, London Cru) A wine made in London? It’s a counter-intuitive idea, all the more so when you consider there are no commercial vineyards (I’m not counting the odd allotment or back-garden row of vines) in the capital. Inspired by the urban wineries of San Francisco and New York, London Cru instead brought the grapes for its four debut wines from three locations in southern Europe. And having followed the progress of this syrah from the vines of Château de Corneilla near Perpignan in the Roussillon as they were picked last September via refrigerated truck to fermentation tank in the backstreets of SW6, I’m pleased to report that it is so, so much better than the gimmick it so easily could have been: it’s a superbly fresh, vividly fruity, natural-tasting red.

Clos des Augustins Le Gamin, Pic Saint-Loup, France 2011 (£16.95, Caviste) In fact all the London Cru wines are impressive, each sharing that same sense of verve and purity, whether made from barbera grapes imported from Piedmont or cabernet sauvignon from Languedoc natural wine star, Jeff Coutelou. There’s a stylistic thread running through them, which, given the diversity of sources, raises the question: what’s more important, the vines or the winemaker? The answer, of course, is both: London Cru’s Gavin Monery has a wonderful light touch, but it would all come to nothing if the fruit he worked with wasn’t up to scratch. The same is true of Coutelou and, indeed, fellow Languedoc biodynamic producer, Clos des Augustins, whose elegant but fleshy and spicy red is one of many highlights in the range of the excellent independent merchant, Caviste.

Franck Massard Mas Sardana Cava Brut Nature NV (£12.99, Naked Wines) Like London Cru, former UK-based French sommelier Franck Massard also takes his fruit from a variety of sources – in his case several Spanish regions – applying his signature style without obscuring the origins of the grapes. He is perhaps best known for his work in the Catalan region of Priorat, where he bought his first plot of vines. But, like many people (it won a trophy at this year’s Wines from Spain Awards) I was particularly impressed by his take on Cava. This is a style that does a perfectly serviceable job of fulfilling the need for cheap fizz (see Waitrose Cava Brut NV, £6.99). But it can do more than that: Massard’s version avoids the mistake of slavishly imitating Champagne, using classic local grape varieties for a distinctive, dry, graceful apple-scented delight.