Rinomata Cantina, Tombacco, Rosso Piceno, 2020, Italy
Madd with Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes with red wine from Tombacco in central Italy is just great. Reasonable bold, dry but with lots of black and red fruit flavours and aromas. There are underlying notes of chocolate and tobacco and our earthiness which is very very subtle it makes this wine superb to go with red meat or to sip on its own. At £12 a bottle it’s excellent value
Brampton Estate, Roxton, 2018, South Africa
I visited Brampton vineyard many years ago and found it to have excellent wines and port. This red blend is no exception for me it’s a crackling red wine. Dry, with solid body and tannins and good length this has flavours of red and black fruits, leather, oak, vanilla and hints of chocolate and tobacco.
The down side is the price at £17 a bottle, not outrageous but not your everyday wine.
Cloudy Bay, Pelorus, Sparkling Rosé, New Zealand
New Zealand sparkling wine has come a long way in the last decade, just like New Zealand wine in general and this sparkling from Cloudy Bay is half decent. Its not perfect and a bit pricey but drinkable. There’s plenty of acidity and tartness but the fruit is lacking with just hints of strawberries and redcurrant. At £25 a bottle there are better Rosé sparkling wines out there.
Domaine de la Potardiere, Muscadet Sevre et Maine, 2019, Loire, France
Loire wines are often decent value and high quality and this one from Domaine de la Potardiere is an excellent example. Being a Muscadet Sevre et Maine you get a dry, richly valued white wine with ripe citrus, pineapple, peach, honey notes and sense that this could be a standard to judge others by.
At £15 a bottle it’s great value and not one to just guzzle
Aldi, Pierre Jaurant, Bordeaux Blend, 2020, France
At times Aldi delights the wine drinker with a cheap wine that does what it’s meant to do, allow you to enjoy it without thinking about it and this Pierre Jaurant, Bordeaux Blend does that.
It’s a half decent dry red wine with firm tannins and lots of black fruit flavours. It’s uncomplicated and meant to just be drunk. At £5 a bottle it’s excellent value.
Black Sage, Viognier, 2017, Okanagan Valley, Canada
Can you get a bad bottle of Canadian wine? Probably but not this one because this is excellent. A little heavier in texture to most white wines this has plenty to taste, apple, melon, hints of citrus and honey. It’s dry and with balanced acidity works well with fish or chicken dishes. At £15 a bottle it’s reasonable value too.
Villa Sandi, Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore, Millesimato, 2020, Italy
Another prosecco that delivers on being easy to drink with decent bubbles and taste. Green apple, melon, lemon, hints of honey and an undertone of minerals make it very enjoyable.
Bernard Massard, Cuvee de L’Ecusson, Brut NV, Luxembourg
This is a quality sparking wine from Bernard Massard located in Luxembourg and has freshness and zing after 10 years in our wine store. Theres softness and subtleness in the citrus flavours and a hint of butteriness, decent acidity and fine bubbles make this a pleasure to drink. At £20 a bottle its fair value and worth getting a few bottles in.
Babich, Sauvignon Blanc, 2021, New Zealand
Another New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, can it get any more boring? Thus is a rather good one, dry, reasonably light, refreshing with decent flavours and aromas. Lime, citrus, pineapple, hints of gooseberry and green apple. At £14 a bottle it should be decent and it delivers.
Domaine de la Jasse, 2011, Languedoc, France
We use to drink Domaine de la Jasse blend in the past like there was no tomorrow and for good reason. Its a classy Languedoc blend but at £12 a bottle it’s not going to break the bank. Dry with now, soft mellow tannins theres loads of ripe black fruit with notes of tobacco, chocolate coffee and hints of oak and vanilla. This just got better at 12 years old than I remember it.