Nero di Troia is the least well known of Puglia’s three main red varieties, but to me it’s the one with the most finesse. This is remarkably light and refreshing for a wine from the south of Italy, reminiscent of a Tempranillo, with elegant red fruits, a nip of tannin and impressive length on the palate. It hangs around. And you’re grateful.
Food Match: Lamb
2010 Vega Ariana, Rioja
( £5.99, 14%, Waitrose )Blended by Waitrose’s Spanish buyer, Nick Room, this is a tasty introduction to Spain’s best-loved wine style, a Tempranillo-based red with a hint of sweet, coconutty American oak, lots of soft red fruits, bright acidity and supple, palate-caressing tannins.
2010 Minarete, Ribera del Duero
( £5.49, 13.5%, Aldi )This wine was a hit when I recommended it on Saturday Ktichen recently, so I thought I’d give it another outing. It’s impressive value at just over a fiver and works really well with lamb dishes. The Tempranillo (Tinto Fino) in Ribera is fresher than in Rioja because it’s grown at altitude, and that’s the case here: fine tannins, bright red fruits and good balance.
2010 Château de Pennautier, Cabardès, Languedoc
( £5.99, 13.5%, Majestic )A lipsmacking blend of five red grapes from one of the cooler, more Atlantic influenced sub-regions of the Languedoc, this is light and refreshing in a Bordeaux meets the Midi sort of way, with some pepper spice, a bit of mint and oak and bags of aroma. Great value, too.
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.
2011 Cramele Recas Paparuda Pinot Noir
( £5.70, 13.5%, Adnams )This is the first wine I’ve ever reviewed on this site from Romania, but it’s a gift to Pinot Noir lovers. Quite simply, this is the best cheap example of the grape in the world. There’s a hint of smoky oak (from a chip or a stave, no doubt), but it’s the fruit that really sings: cherry stone and raspberry with supple tannins and a core of sweetness. Not complex, but bright, cheerful and very drinkable.
2009 Seresin Estate Raupo Creek Pinot Noir, Marlborough
( £25.99, 14%, Armit Wines )The wines from this biodynamic estate in Marlborough are now among the best in the South Island. This is the pick of the current Pinot Noir releases, sourced from clay loam soils and showing an extra dimension of concentration, tannin and sap. It’s savoury and sweet, with taut acidity, subtle oak and impressive vivacity, line and length. A wine that wouldn’t look out of place in Burgundy.
2011 Tesco Finest Swartland Shiraz, Swartland
( £6.99, 14%, Tesco )Adi Badenhorst has created some increasingly smart wines since he set up on his own, post-Rustenberg, in the Swartland. This lightly-oaked red from a region that is growing in importance and stature is elegant, smoky and gentle with appealing red fruits and a fresh, yet well rounded finish. A good wine to serve with turkey. Or at a Christmas party.
2011 Allegrini, Valoplicella, Veneto
( £8, 13%, Liberty Wines )Juicy, modern Valpol with more weight than most examples of Italy’s wine bar red. Unoaked, packed with brambly, raspberry fruit and bright acidity. A wine that surprises you with its seriousness. Perfect for a screwcap closure.
2008 Isole e Olena Cepparello, Tuscany
( £45, 14.5%, Liberty Wines )Paolo de Marchi is in the vanguard of Italy’s top rank producers with his switch to screwcaps. This, his top wine, is a stunning expression of Sangiovese, full of youthful, vibrant red cherry and damson skin fruit, with well integrated oak, medium tannins and bags of potential.
2011 Changyu Cabernet/Gernischt, Ningxia, China
( £9.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )One of the more drinkable Chinese wines to cross my tasting bench, this is a quaffable, sweetish blend with slighty angular acidity and pleasant cassis and red cherry fruit. Not masively (or even slightly) complex, but certainly drinkable.
2009 Ségla, Margaux, Bordeaux
( £39, 14%, Oddbins )Attractive Margaux made in a very approachable style, even for a 2009, with sweet cassis fruit and stylish oak integration. The wine has good acidity for the vintage, with elegant, fine-grained tannins and good palate length. Not a keeper, but attractive now.