It’s good to see João Maria Ramos working alongside his father João Portugal, one of the leading lights of the Alentejo region, these days. The pair have made a very tasty old-vine blend in 2021, partnering Alicante Bouschet, 20% Aragonez (aka Tempranillo) and 15% each of Castelão and Syrah. Intense, grippy and full-bodied, it’s just the thing for a cold November evening, preferably accompanied by a good stew. Spicy, muscular and intense, with aromas of spicy oak, thyme and liquorice and a core of damson, fig and blackberry fruit.
Price Range: £10-15
2023 Lyrarakis Orange Wine, Crete
( £11.99, 13%, Majestic )A wine to sip while you’re reading Peter Pharos’ article about Crete last week, this is my kind of orange wine. Made from a judicious cuvée of Assyrtiko and Vidiano, it has the freshness of its 500-metre site in Heraklion, subtle tangerine, quince and lemon zest flavours, a hint of quinine bitterness and a tapering finish. Appealingly versatile with food.
2021 Santa Tresa Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily
( £11.50, 14%, The Wine Society )Cerasuolo di Vittoria often tastes as if its comes from a cooler place than the south-east corner of Sicily. This one from Santa Tresa is fuller bodied than some examples of the DOCG thanks to partial raisining on the vine, but retains the freshness and perfume that are so distinctive. Pairing Nero d’Avola and brighter, more charming Frappato, it has red cherry, plum and wild Meditteranean herb flavours, savoury tannins and a refreshing finish.
2023 Gérard Bertrand Le Chouchou, Vin de France, Vin de France
( £12.99, 11% , Waitrose )So pale it could almost be sold as a rosé, this is a perfect end-of-summer red from Gérard Bertrand, something to serve straight from the fridge. Made with an unoaked combination of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault from the Languedoc, but sold as more lowly Vin de France, this is juicy, floral and lipsmackingly fresh, with flavours of pomegranate, raspberry and red cherry, subtle tannins, plenty of acidity and a twist of clove spice. Lots of fun.
2023 Eidosela Albariño, Rías Baixas
( £12.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )I sampled this good value Albariño in a large line-up at the Consejo Regulador in Pontevedra this week and it really stood out. Sourced from the warmer Condado do Tea region – but tasting more like a white from the cooler, more Atlantic Salnés Valley – it’s crisp, tangy and focused, with jasmine, beeswax and wet stone aromas, plenty of mouth-watering acidity and flavours of passion fruit and lime.
2022 Taste the Difference Grüner Veltliner, Traisental
( £11, 12.5%, Sainsbury's )It always strikes me as something of a coup by Sainsbury’s to get top Austrian winemaker Marks Huber to produce their own-label Grüner Veltliner. Gloriously pure and perfumed, this has classic white pepper and bay leaf aromas, a palate of pear, peach and green apple, some extra texture from three months on lees in tank and plenty of racy, crunchy acidity. A delicious summer white.
2023 Mythral Côtes de Provence Rosé, Provence
( £11.99, 12.5%, Majestic )Good value by the standards of some Provence rosés – surely one of the most profitable wine styles in the world – this is an appealingly packaged, lip-smacking pink from Les Grands Chais de France. Based on Grenache, with the remaining 40% made up of six other red and white grapes, it has good focus and intensity, redcurrant, watermelon and rosehip flavours and a refreshing, chalky finish.
NV Graham Beck The Rhona Rosé, Western Cape
( £14, 12%, Marks & Spencer, Ocado )It’s no mean feat to produce a sub-£15 bubbly as delicious as this attractively packaged Cap Classique from sparkling wine specialists Pieter Ferreira and Pierre De Klerk of Graham Beck. Blended across the cooler regions of the Cape, it’s a cuvée of Pinot Noir, 49% Chardonnay and 1% Pinot Meunier with fine bubbles, raspberry, malt and summer pudding flavours, crunchy acidity and just enough dosage to sweeten the fresh finish.
2022 Ken Forrester Wines The Misfits Cinsault, Western Cape
( £10, 13%, Tesco )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.
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.
2019 Tesco Finest Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany
( £10, 13.5%, Tesco )Chianti Classico is one of those wines that it’s easy to take for granted. It’s the kind of thing that often gets overlooked in our scramble to try new things. But when it’s good, you remember why it’s a staple of the wine world. This very lightly wooded Riserva, made by Melini, is a blend of Sangiovese with 15% Canaiolo and Malvasia Negra. Plum, red cherry and sweet spice flavours are completed by bright, tangy acidity, polished tannins and a lingering finish. The perfect treat with a plate of pasta.
2021 Santa Venere Cirò Rosso, Calabria
( £10.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Wines from the southern Italian region of Calabria are comparatively rare in the UK, but this great value, unwooded Gaglioppo from organic vineyards close to the Ionian Sea makes you wonder why. Spicy, earthy and bright, it has has bramble, black tea and red cherry flavours, supple tannins and a dusting of wild herbs. A wine that massively overdelivers at its price point.