Graciano is more readily associated with neighbouring Rioja (and then only in small quantities) than Navarra, but this one from the youthful Adriana Ochoa is superb. It’s almost Italian in style, with marked acidity, some spice and a fair bit of tannin, but there’s some black cherry and bramble fruit to add sweetness and flesh to the bones.
Food Match: Beef
2008 Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia
( £28.99, 14.5%, Slurp, Wine Direct )You could open this impressive Cabernet/Shiraz blend right now, but you’d be missing out on what the wine will do in bottle. This is the top red from Yalumba in most vintages and that’s the case here. It’s rich and deeply coloured, but not over-ripe or blowsy in the slightest. Structured and sweet, with nuances of blueberry, mint, chocolate and vanilla, polished, fine-grained tannins a a long, satisfying finish.
2010 Montes Alpha, Merlot, Apalta Vineyard, Colchagua Valley
( £12.99, 14.5%, Majestic )Montes is a winery that has mastered the art of delivering flavour and some complexity at affordable prices, as typified by this ripe, deeply-coloured Merlot from the Colchagua Valley. This has some classic Chilean mint, with attractive plum and black cherry flavours, mid-weight tannins and sweet, assertive oak.
2011 Les Jamelles, Réserve Mourvèdre, Vin de Pays d'Oc, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £6.99, 14%, The Co-operative )Mourvèdre rarely gets solo billing in the south of France, even in Bandol, its home from home, so it’s good to see this on a supermarket shelf. It’s minty and rich, with sweet bramble and blackberry fruit and the tannins for which the grape is famous.
2006 Yalumba, The Octavius, Barossa Valley, South Australia
( £48.99, 14.5%, Harrods, Noel Young Wines, Slurp, Winedirect )Serious, strapping Shiraz, but with a feminine side, this is a seriously delicious Aussie red, which encapsulates the best of the Barossa, both modern and traditional. It’s ripe, soft and sweet, with succulent blackberry and raspberry fruit, a hint of coconutty oak and appealing bottle maturation. Spicy, rich, yet very well balanced.
2009 Yalumba Shiraz/Viognier, Eden Valley, South Australia
( £11.99, 14%, Harrods, Slurp, Winedirect )The Viognier is more obvious in this wine than it is in most Côte Rôties, but that’s part of the style. It’s ripe, soft and slightly apricotty, with supple red fruits, touches of oak. liquorice and blackberry and medium weight tannins.
2009 Vinoterra Saperavi, Kakheti
( €15.90, 13%, Geovino )Trademark Saperavi produced by Gogi Dakishvili at Schuchmann Wines – Saperavi is perhaps the most important indigenous red grape variety in Georgia today. Peppery, raspberry and prune fruit with an attractive balsamic note. Spicy, tannic but well balanced. Feels effortless.
2011 Alaverdi Monastery Saperavi, Kakheti
( POA, 13%, Les Caves de Pyrene )Alaverdi only produce around 20,000 bottles a year, and they had already run out of the 2010 vintage when we visited in November 2012. This 2011 Qvevri sample needs another year for the rather brutal tannins to resolve, but the purity and focus of the dark, berry fruit is evident. There’s some attractive ginger spiciness, terrific freshness and what Charles Metcalfe describes very aptly as a “balsamic hint”.
2008 Jakeli Saperavi, Kakheti
( N/A, 13.8%, Available from the winery )An excellent qvevri-fermented Saperavi from a small (6ha), organically certified producer in Georgia’s Eastern Kakheti region. Spicy nose, and candied cherry fruit. Seriously structured, with an attractive rosemary scent, and perhaps not suprisingly a great match with lamb.
2008 Vinoterra Cabernet Sauvignon, Kakheti
( N/A, 13%, Available from the winery )A fascinating example of what happens if you take an international variety (Cabernet Sauvignon in this case) and ferment/mature it in a qvevri – in this case the wine was also matured in oak. Cabernet’s minty blackcurrant footprint is clearly present, together with herbaceous, spicy and balsamic hints. This is a big wine, with very ripe fruit, but super fresh and really rather elegant. Perhaps not entirely authentic, but original and stays true to the qvevri style. I drank this with Christmas roast goose and all the trimmings – a tough gig, but it held up.
2011 Finca Flichman Gestos Malbec, Mendoza
( £5.99, 14%, Majestic )This Portuguese-owned operation in Mendoza makes someof the best value wines in Argentina at the moment, typified by this pungent, sweetly oaked Malbec. It’s got a ripe, almost honeyed sweetness to it, balanced by notes of vanilla, blackberry and spice. You have to serve this with a juicy steak.
2009 Château Dasvin-Bel-Air, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux
( £9.99, 14%, Aldi )There are some surprisingly good wines at this increasingly popular discount chain, particularly at Christmas. This Bordeaux cru bourgeois from a celebrated recent vintage is a case in point. It’s a light, elegant, easy-drinking claret with fine tannins, good freshness and plenty of juicy cassis and green pepper notes. A red that really delivers at the price.