93

2019 Angeline Vineyards Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, California

( £19.99, 13.8%, Aitken Wines, Askew Wines, Cheers Wine Merchants, Flagship Wines, Framlington Wines, Harris Wines, New Forest Wines, Seven Cellars, St Andrews Wines, Stroud Wines )

It’s rare to find really good Californian Pinot Noir under £20 a bottle, especially if it comes from the ultra-trendy Russian River area. This is elegant, precise and very lightly oaked, with aromas of fennel and sweet baking spices, a palate of wild strawberry and goji berries, silky tannins and the supporting acidity that you’d expect from a region with cool Pacific influence. Fantastic value.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, United States, Red, Pinot Noir
93

2017 Quinta da Silveira Colheita Branco, Douro Valley

( £16.95, 12.5%, Davy's )

It’s something of a paradox. How can a region as hot as Portugal’s Douro Valley, home of full-throttle Ports, also produce elegant, graceful white wines? The answer lies in site selection, picking dates and the acidity of the local grapes. This cuvée of Rabigato, Gouveio, Viosinho and Arinto is a delicious example from winemaker Rodrigo Martins. It’s both lightly tropical and refreshing, with notes of caramelised pineapple, pear and green apple, fresh, almost salty acidity and a hint of kerosene that’s reminiscent of an aged Riesling. Remarkable at the price.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Portugal, White, Arinto, Gouveia, Rabigato, Viosinho
92

2019 Villa Antinori Toscana, Tuscany

( £13, 13.5%, The Co-operative )

Antinori is one of those producers that rarely, if ever, lets you down, producing everything from good value reds like this Super Tuscan blend to some of the finest wines in Italy. Sangiovese-based with support from 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, it’s wonderfully scented, smooth and sensitively oaked, displaying flavours of cassis, red cherry and Mediterranean herbs supported by fine-boned tannins and refreshing acidity. Really good at the price.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-29Similar Wines: Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah
92

2021 Domaine Maby La Fermade Blanc, Lirac, Rhône

( £11.95, 12.5%, Wine Society )

Varietal whites are so popular these days – all those Pinot Grigios, Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs – that it’s easy to overlook the charms of blended ones, especially when they’re made from an unusual combination of grapes. This wonderful, unoaked Rhône Valley example from Domaine May combines Clairette with 35% Grenache Blanc and 25% Picpoul and is engagingly fresh, stony and tangy, with citrus, quince and wild herb flavours and lovely mid-palate weight.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £11.95, 90-94, France, White, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul
90

2021 Tesco Finest Western Australia Chardonnay, Western Australia

( £8, 13%, Tesco )

I’m old enough to remember the days when most Australian Chardonnays were ripe, buttery and oaky. But the last decade or so has witnessed a remarkable transformation in the style of the country’s most famous white grape. This very lightly wooded, great value example from Howard Park shows you what I mean. Textured yet refreshing, with struck match and vanilla spice aromas, waxed lemon and grapefruit flavours and a taut, appealingly refreshing finish.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Australia, White, Chardonnay
91

2020 Creation Chardonnay, Walker Bay

( £12.99, 13.5%, Majestic )

Winemaker Jean-Claude Martin calls this his “village wine”, produced from 11 different blocks at Creation, tucked away at the top end of the painterly Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Deftly wooded in 10% new barrels, it has an engaging combination of citrus, pear, nutmeg and beeswax flavours lifted by acidity. A very impressive Cape white from a Chardonnay master.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, South Africa, White, Chardonnay
93

2020 Laurent Miquel La Vérité, IGP Pays d'Oc, Occitanie

( £17.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )

Every bit as good as the much more vaunted (and expensive) wines of Condrieu in the northern Rhône, this is an appealingly rich, scented, heady Viognier from the Languedoc that still manages to keep its feet on the ground. Peach, citrus and honeysuckle notes are framed by nuanced, spicy oak and supported by acidity. Exotic, palate-coating stuff.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, France, White, Viognier
93

2019 Pepe Mendoza Mares de Luz Monastrell Monastrell/Giró, Alicante

( £9.75, 14%, The Wine Society )

I have to admit that I did a double take after I’d sampled this wine. £9.75 for something as complex as Pepe Mendoza’s equal blend of Monastrell and Giró? The Wine Society must have made a typo, surely? But that is indeed the price of his stunning cuvée. Somewhere between a northern Rhône Syrah and a high-altitude Spanish Garnacha in style, despite being produced next to the Mediterranean, it’s peppery, spicy and intense, with a hint of oak, wonderful red berry zip and freshness, appealing acidity and fine-grained, stony tannins. Ludicrously good at under £10.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-28Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Spain, Red, Giró, Monastrell
93

2021 Domaine Laurens Comme Un Dimanche Sous Un Cerisier, IGP Aveyron, Occitanie

( £12.50, 11%, Joie de Vin )

My discovery of the day at a recent Sud de France tasting in London, this perfumed, lip smacking wine is made by brothers Eric, Pascal and Vincent Laurens in Clairvaux d’Aveyron, near Marcillac. Produced without added sulphur from the local Mansois grape (also known in these parts as Fer Servadou), it’s smooth, bouncy and unwooded, with lots of colour, racy acidity, refreshingly low alcohol and a core of violet and black cherry. Utterly delicious. And if you quote the code ATKIN10 on the Joie de Vin website, you’ll get 10% off the very reasonable bottle price. While stocks last…

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, France, Red, Fer Servadou
92

2021 Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling, Great Southern, Western Australia

( £9, 13%, Tesco )

One of those wines that’s so good I still want to stop strangers in the street and tell them about it after all these years, Tingelup Riesling has been one of the very best – and best value – wines in the Tesco lineup for as long as I can remember. Made by ace winemaker Janice McDonald of Howard Park in Western Australia, it’s wonderfully tangy, bone dry Aussie white with lime and waxed lemon peel intensity, stony, mouth-watering acidity and a long tapering finish.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-26Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, Australia, White, Riesling
92

2020 Tenuta del Priore Campotinto Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Abruzzo

( £9.50, 13.5%, Tanners )

Now that we can start having (legal) parties again, this is just the sort of thing I’d like to serve to my friends and family. Sourced from a family-owned winery near Pescara, it’s a fruity, perfumed, unoaked bundle of joy, with lots of lift and texture, layers of plum and red cherry, lively acidity and just enough tannin to give it some food-friendly grip and structure.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-25Similar Wines: £9.50, 90-94, Italy, Red, Montepulciano
93

2017 Ascheri Barolo DOCG, Piedmont

( £23, 14.5%, Tesco )

Affordable Barolo, like affordable red Burgundy, tends to cost over £20, unless it’s something that should have been distilled long ago. This deliciously drinkable 2017, which shows none of the heat of the vintage, comes from the Ascheri family’s vineyards in the villages of La Morra, Serralunga d’Alba and Verduno. Scented and enticing, with rose petal and dried herbs aromas, savoury, granular tannins and layers of raspberry, plum and sweet spices. Traditional Barolo with a modern twist.

BuyDrinking window: 2022-29Similar Wines: £20-25, 90-94, Italy, Red, Nebbiolo