Ken Forrester is best known as one of the Cape’s most famous Chenin Blanc producers, but he produces some very decent reds, too. This is made from Cinsault, one of the parents of local Pinotage but also gaining a following in its own right. Think of it as a South African Beaujolais, all strawberries, raspberries and red cherries with some stems adding notes of white pepper and tobacco leaf. Drink it chilled as an ideal wine with a barbecue, or braai.
Food Match: Barbecue
2021 M&S Collection Ebenezer & Seppeltsfield Barossa Shiraz, Barossa Valley
( £14, 14.5%, Marks & Spencer )The kind of thing that made me fall in love with Australian wine back in the 1980s, this is a classy, full-bodied Barossa Valley Shiraz from the Langmeil winery. Combining grapes from two vineyards, Ebenezer and Seppeltsfield, on different soil types, it has plenty of texture, structure and concentration, blackberry, summer pudding, liquorice and five spice flavours and some vanilla and coconut sweetness from ageing in French and American oak.
2021 M&S Found Saperavi, Kakheti
( £10, 13%, Marks & Spencer )If Saperavi were French, it would be one of the world’s most famous red grapes. Instead, Georgia’s premium variety remains something of a secret to most UK wine drinkers. This tasty, toothsome example, sold under Marks & Spencer’s very good Found range, comes from the premium region of Kakheti, where the limestone soils always seem to give the wines a chalky frisson. Plum and damson fruit flavours are supported by protein-friendly tannins and racy acidity.
2022 Juan Gil Monastrell, Jumilla
( £13, 14.5%, Aitken Wines, Cheers Wine Merchants, D. Byrne, Noel Young, Premier Cru Wine Merchants, The Battleship, The Bottleshop, Vin Neuf )Thanks to its preponderance of old vines and a new generation of winemakers, Jumilla is becoming one of Spain’s most talked about regions. This is an understated, sensitively wooded, organically farmed Monastrell from Familia Gil with lots of sweet spices, red berry, bramble and raspberry fruit and plenty of supporting acidity from its high-altitude terroir at 700 metres. Great value from the Castilla a Mancha.
2021 Alta Vista Terroir Selection Malbec, Mendoza
( £15, 14.5%, Sainsbury's )On offer at Sainsbury’s right now, this is an outstanding value Malbec from one of the country’s best producers. Blending grapes from the Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley sub-regions of Mendoza, it’s full-bodied, plush, yet remarkably fresh and layered, with aromas of violet and aniseed, sculpted tannins, plum and blueberry fruit and a frame of scented, spicy oak. Good now, but will develop further in bottle.
2019 Muga Reserva, Rioja
( £19.99 as part of a purchase of six bottles, 14.5%, Majestic )One of a dwindling number of top Riojas that combines grapes from the Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental sub-regions, this impressive Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Pairing Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, 6% Mazuelo and 4% Graciano, with ageing in a 80/20 mix of French and American oak, it’s spicy, succulent and smartly wooded, with raspberry and blueberry fruit, sinewy tannins and plenty of acidity to freshen the finish. Will develop further in bottle.
2022 Finca Sandoval Fundamentalista, Manchuela
( £19.95, 13%, Noel Young Wines )Originally founded by a Spanish journalist, Finca Sandoval has been one of the driving forces behind the revival of the high-altitude Manchuela denominación de origen, located close to the Mediterranean on the slopes of the Cuenca mountains. Based on Bobal, the most important local grape, with support from four other rare varieties and a splash of more international Syrah, this is juicy, vibrant and entirely unwooded, with understated old-vine concentration, raspberry, plum and strawberry flavours, granular tannins and a fresh, chalky finish.
NV Tesco Finest Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône Valley
( £21, 14.5%, Tesco )It’s unusual to come across a Châteauneuf-du-Pape that’s a blend of vintages, but this one from Julie Rouffignac uses wines from four different harvests – 2017, 2017, 2020 and 2021 – to weave its magic. Pairing Grenache with 40% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre and 1% Cinsault, it’s an unwooded delight that’s perfect for an autumn meal, with notes of fig, bramble and red berries, layers of pepper and clove spice and a savoury finish.
2022 Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Discovery Collection Fronton, Fronton
( £9, 13% , Sainsbury's )I’m regularly impressed by the Discovery Collection label at Sainsbury’s, as it offers unusual wines at decent prices. This is an unoaked south-west French blend of local Négrette with more widely planted Malbec. Youthful, sappy and refreshing, it has lovely bramble and black cherry fruit flavours, spicy, savoury tannins and the underlying concentration and structure to stand up to the smokiness of a summer barbecue.
2020 Colomé Estate Malbec, Salta
( £23.99, 14.5%, Hedonism, Noel Young Wines, The Secret Cellar )“Our classic Malbec,” is how Thibaut Delmotte describes this blend of four vineyards at different altitudes – Altura Máxima, Colomé, El Arenal and La Brava. Wonderfully juicy and scented, it’s the perfect introduction to the variety, with intense damson, blueberry and wild thyme flavours, palate-caressing tannins and a tangy finish.
2018 Hill of Grace, Eden Valley
( £625, 14.5%, Liberty Wines )Tasting Hill of Grace is often a moving experience, especially so in an excellent vintage like 2018. Using vines planted between 1860 and 1965, it’s one of the great wines of Australia as well as the world. Inky, layered and profound, with maturation in an 83/17 combination of French and American barrels, this is a wine that carries its power and concentration comparatively lightly. Five spice, fennel and vanilla pod aromas lead you into a palate that has intensity, focus and, yes, grace, blackberry and blueberry fruit, fleshy, sculpted tannins, deftly handled oak and a lift of freshness and acidity. A world-class wine from a unique site.
2018 Hill of Roses, Eden Valley
( £325, 14.5%, Liberty Wines )Hill of Roses is made with a Shiraz from the 0.94-hectare Post Office Block 3, located within the Hill of Grace vineyard in the Eden Valley. Replanted by Prue Henschke in 1989 with a much older massal selection from the Grandfathers’ parcel, this is a dense, compact, self-assured Shiraz that’s more Hermitage than Côte Rôtie perhaps. Mint, sage and rose petal aromas segue into a palate of blackberry, damson and dark plums framed by mocha-scented, 25% new French oak. Weighty and intense with the concentration to age convincingly in bottle.