Helping you serve the perfect match

Jun 26 2008 By Laurence Mccoy

STYLISH, silky and with perfect poise - it could be Roger Federer in full flight...or it could be a quality Pinot Noir from New Zealand.

Wimbledon is here again - time to seek out some wines that fit in nicely with the larger than life personalities who get their two weeks of fame on the manicured lawns of SW19.

That Pinot Noir, for instance, - Ara Composite 2006 - is as subtle and scintillating as a perfectly composed Roger Federer rally. It's made from grapes that come from a collection of sites in the Marlborough region and is beautifully constructed, with perfumed wild raspberry aromas, tight acidity and an excellent balance of subtle oak (£10.95 at Berry Bros & Rudd, or £13.99 at Majestic).

Federer is not going to get it all his own way. Rafael Nadal has plenty of physical presence - like the Grant Burge range of Shiraz from the Barossa Valley in Australia. There's a lot more than just brawn to the Benchmark 2006 (£6.49), however. It has youth on its side but a focus that belies its years. Barossa Vines 2005 (£7.99) serves up more complexity, a hint of guile and persistence hidden behind an immediately attractive broad and fruity persona. Miamba Shiraz 2006 (£10.99 is a hint of what may be to come. It will develop, but already there is ample concentration and depth of intense dark fruit, with a seam of enticing chocolate intensity. They are all available for www.every-wine.co.uk

From Argentina comes Jea n Bousquet Tupungato Reserva Ca-bernet Sauvignon 2006. This has nearly 15 per cent of Malbec, the indigenous Argentine grape, in the blend and the result is a Novak Djokovic of a wine - powerful, supple and exciting, full of youth and vigour, with heady, ripe black-currant and damson fruit and bright acidity (£8.75 at www.vintageroots.co.uk).

It's not just about the men- Quinta do Coa Branco 2006, a white wine from the Douro valley, more famous for port, (£7.99 at vintage-roots.co.uk) has the extrovert attractiveness of an Ana Ivanovic with a seam of something more serious, a delicious full-flavoured cocktail of lime marmalade and apricot.

Anakena Ona 2006 is a blend of Viognier, Riesling and Chardonnay (£8.99 at Oddbins) resulting in abundant fruit, apricot, grapefruit and lime, delicate but balanced and with a sunny personality - Maria Sharapova, perhaps?