There are cheaper Argentinian Malbecs on the market, but this one only uses grapes from the high-altitude Uco Valley regions of Eugenio Bustos, Los Chacayes and Paraje Altamira, so it’s especially vibrant and refreshing, even in a hot vintage like 2022. Perfumed and engaging, it has textbook top notes of violet, liquorice and Andean wild herbs, glossy tannins, tangy minerality and juicy plum and blackberry fruit embellished by subtle, toasty oak.
Food Match: Lamb
2022 Carinus Family Vineyards Syrah, Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch
( £14.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Over the last decade or so, the Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch have emerged as one of the best places in the world to grow Syrah. It’s a region that produces wines that can go toe-to-toe with the best of the northern Rhône. This wine from Danie Carinus’ own vines, vinified by superstar winemaker Lukas van Loggerenberg, is crazily good value for money. It has enticing clove, lavender and white pepper aromas, tangy blackberry and tapenade flavours and a whisper of oak. Delicious.
2022 Peter Lehmann Portrait Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley
( £15, 14%, Tesco )Australia’s Barossa Valley is generally regarded as Shiraz country, but can also produce very smart reds from Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. This textured, well-structured red from winemaker Brett Schulz is a case in point. Plush, glossy and slightly minty, with understated French and Aussie oak, it has ample concentration, supple tannins, cassis and blackberry fruit and undertones of liquorice and dried herbs.
2024 Famille Bougrier Les Terrasses Cabernet Franc, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Loire Valley
( £11.50, 12%, Tesco )Asked to compile a list of my favourite five red grapes, I’d definitely include Cabernet Franc – and not Cabernet Sauvignon. This fresh, typically medium-bodied example from Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil is wonderfully bright and appealing, with rocket, coriander and graphite aromas and a tangy, unwooded palate of black cherry and red pepper framed by granular tannins.
2023 Irresistible Malbec, Bío Bío
( £9, 13.5%, The Co-op )Only available at the Co-op supermarket in the UK, but included here because it’s so good at the price, this is a cooler climate Malbec from two vineyards in southerly Bío Bío that are planted on different soil types. A third of the wine was aged with inner staves, adding a coffee bean note to a palate of mint, blueberry and bramble. Juicy and refreshing with a bright, tangy finish.
2021 Tesco Finest McLaren Vale Grenache, McLaren Vale
( £11, 14.5%, Tesco )Aussie Shiraz may be better known, but the country’s Grenaches have a pedigree that is just as long and impressive. This rich, full-bodied, lightly wooded example comes from the Mediterranean climate of McLaren Vale, situated to the south of the city of Adelaide, has appealing flavours of bramble and red fruits, plenty of balancing acidity, smooth tannins and a dab of patisserie spices. Try it lightly chilled.
2024 Domaine Bousquet Finca Lalande The Land Cabernet Franc, Uco Valley, Mendoza
( £10.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )Domaine Bousquet is one of the biggest and best organic producers in Argentina, so it’s good to see this newly released Uco Valley Cabernet Franc on a UK supermarket shelf. Full-bodied yet fresh, Finca Lalande is an appealingly floral, focused expression of the grape that has found a home in the higher parts of Mendoza. Entirely unwooded, it has aromas of cut grass and green herbs, lots of zip and acidity and flavours of plum and black cherry.
2021 Ca' Leando L'Arenal Monastrell, Valencia
( £18.50, 14%, Noel Young Wines )I tasted this wine as part of a six-pack that my friend Noel Young offered to customers who wanted to support the winemakers of Valencia after the terrible floods last year. And I loved it. It comes from a small 2.6-hectare vineyard called Lloma Rasa, which benefits from being at 550 metres. Made entirely with Monastrell, the best local red grape, it has hints of clove and tobacco leaf from partial whole bunch fermentation, flavours of wild thyme, fennel and rosemary, savoury tannins and a core of plum, strawberry and redcurrant fruit. Quintessentially Mediterranean.
2020 Reyneke Biodynamic Syrah, Stellenbosch
( £14.95, 13%, The Wine Society )The Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch are one the best places in the New World to grow Syrah and no one does it better than Johan “the vine hugger” Reyneke. Fermented with 30% whole bunches, this has enticing aromas of pine and lavender and a vibrant, spicy, grippy palate of fig, white pepper and barbecued meat. An amazing bargain at under £15.
2021 Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir, San Antonio
( £18, 14%, Tesco )Cono Sur makes a greater range of good Pinot Noirs than any other producer in the world, offering impressive value for money in the process. Like the bodega’s other higher end wines, 20 Barrels is now sourced from coastal San Antonio rather than the Casablanca Valley. Aged in a combination of foudres and partially new oak barrels, this is sappy, bight and well structured, with plum, black cherry and rasperry fruit flavours and a sheen of vanilla spice. Hard to beat under £20.
2021 Emmanuel Durand Les Trois Chênes Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône Valley
( £22, 13%, Berry Brothers & Rudd )The Rhône Valley still offers great value for money if you know where to look. This is the kind of wine that belies the line that Crozes is the “poor man’s Hermitage”. It’s an intensely scented cool climate Syrah from an impressive recent vintage, with classic liquorice and white pepper aromas, textured, glossy tannins, subtle wood spices and a layers of blackberry and fennel.
2021 Domaine du Bel Air Jour de Soif, Bourgueil, Loire Valley
( £22, 13%, Berry Brothers & Rudd )Loire Valley Cabernet Francs are some of my favourite reds in the world, with just the right combination of freshness, perfume and acidity. This unwooded example from Bourgueil, an appellation which can often be among the earthier expressions of the variety, is wonderfully sappy and thirst-quenching, with aromas of violets and cut grass, bags of crunchy acidity and a palate of black cherry and raspberry framed by graceful tannins.