96

2021 Manda Huevos Carramainas, Calatayud

( £15, 13.2%, The Wine Society )

Norrel Robertson MW, known as the Escocés Volante (Flying Scotsman), is making some of the most distinctive wines in northern Spain right now. Manda Huevos – Spanish slang for “no way!” – is a remarkable, barrel-fermented cuvée of Macabeo and 5% Garnacha Blanca from an 85-year-old vineyard at 850 metres in Calatayud. Creamy, spicy and stylishly wooded, it has notes of beeswax and citrus zest, stony intensity and a hint of vanilla spice.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-28Similar Wines: £15-20, 95-100, Spain, White, Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo
92

2022 Kanakaris 10³ Agiorgitiko, Nemea

( £19.99, 13%, Cambridge Wine Merchants )

I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel a little more autumnal, so I’m switching from the crisp, dry whites of summer to medium-bodied reds like this Agiorgitiko from the Greek Peloponnese. Made by brothers Stefanos and Michalis Kanakaris, it has an appealing bouquet of incense and sweet spices, enough tannin to give it some structure, a dab of oak and flavours of plum, redcurrant and summer berries. Surprisingly versatile with food.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-29Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Greece, Red
94

2020 Samartzis Dío Potámia Kontoura Barrique, Thiva

( £16.50, 12.5%, Tanners )

A brilliant new find by one of the the UK’s best wine merchants, this is a pure Kontoura from vines in the Valley of the Muses north-west of Athens, made by ex-pharmacist Panos Samartzis. Surprisingly rich and textured for a wine with just 12.5% alcohol, it has aromas of beeswax and toast, lots of racy acidity, lemongrass and yellow apple flavours and a stony finish. The oak is especially well integrated. Outstanding value for money.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-28Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Greece, White, Contour
93

2022 Laurent Miquel Lieu-Dit La Vérité Viognier, Pays d'Oc

( £19.99, 14.5%, Waitrose Cellar )

I have to admit that I often find Viognier a one glass wine, but Laurent Miquel’s La Vérité from a special parcel on one of his Languedoc estates is the kind of thing I could drink by the case. Intense, textured, creamy, yet refreshing, it has aromas of honeysuckle and vanilla, a toasty top note from ageing in new French barrels, layers of peach, citrus zest and apricot and enough acidity to keep the palate barrelling along.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-27Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, France, White, Viognier
92

2020 Rupert & Rothschild Classique, Western Cape

( £18.99, 13.9%, Majestic )

It’s no mean feat to make 1.2 million bottles of a wine that’s as good as this blend of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with 8% Petit Verdot and a splash of Malbec. Blended across the Cape, with components from Stellenbosch, Darling, Wellington and Paarl, it has floral bramble, cassis and red berry flavours, stylish oak, caressing tannins and some understated aromatic spices. A delicious alternative to red Bordeaux.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-30Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, South Africa, Red, Malbec, Merlot. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot
91

2021 Umani Ronchi Fonte del Re Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, Marche

( £15.50, 13%, Tesco )

Made with the comparatively rare Lagrima di Morro d’Alba grape, this unwooded Adriatic red is one of the hidden jewels in the sprawling Tesco range. Close your eyes and you could almost be smelling a white wine, as aromas of ginger and Turkish Delight waft from the glass. The palate puts you right, though, as it combines plum and black cherry fruit with plenty of underlying grip and acidity. A perfect wine with a plate of fresh pasta.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-29Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Italy, Red, Lacrima
93

2021 Alta Vista Terroir Selection Malbec, Mendoza

( £15, 14.5%, Sainsbury's )

On offer at Sainsbury’s right now, this is an outstanding value Malbec from one of the country’s best producers. Blending grapes from the Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley sub-regions of Mendoza, it’s full-bodied, plush, yet remarkably fresh and layered, with aromas of violet and aniseed, sculpted tannins, plum and blueberry fruit and a frame of scented, spicy oak. Good now, but will develop further in bottle.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-32Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Argentina, Red, Malbec
92

2022 Guímaro Tinto, Ribeira Sacra, Galicia

( £17.33, 12.5%, Joseph Barnes Direct. Shrine to the Vine, Les Caves de Pyrene, Tivoli Wines )

Blending components from the steep-sided Sil and Miño Valleys, this wonderfully gluggable, organically farmed  red is based on Mencía with bits and pieces of other co-planted grapes, according to Pedro Rodríguez. Engagingly intense and floral, it’s a white wine drinker’s red in some ways, with lots of zip and acidity, violet and rose petal aromas, refined tannins and layers of raspberry, pomegranate and wild strawberry. Drink lightly chilled.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-29Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Spain, Red, Mencia
93

2020 Domaine Joseph Burrier Juliénas Beauvernay, Beaujolais

( £17.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )

Juliénas has always been one of the more highly regarded of the ten Beaujolais Crus, and rightly so in my book.  Showing the structure that often seems to feature in the granite-based wines of the northern Beaujolais, this is a complex, layered, intensely perfumed Gamay that’s all about fruit rather than oak, with plum, bramble and raspberry flavours and enough tannin and backbone to develop further in bottle.Lip-smacking stuff.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-29Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, France, Red, Gamay
93

2019 Muga Reserva, Rioja

( £19.99 as part of a purchase of six bottles, 14.5%, Majestic )

One of a dwindling number of top Riojas that combines grapes from the Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental sub-regions, this impressive Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Pairing Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, 6% Mazuelo and 4% Graciano, with ageing in a 80/20 mix of French and American oak, it’s spicy, succulent and smartly wooded, with raspberry and blueberry fruit, sinewy tannins and plenty of acidity to freshen the finish. Will develop further in bottle.

BuyDrinking window: 2024-2035Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Spain, Red, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, Tempranillo
94

2019 Klein Constantia Metis Sauvignon Blanc, Constantia

( £19.99, 13.5%, Majestic )

Loire Valley guru Pascal Jolivet inspired the talented Matt Day to make this wild-fermented, left-field Sauvignon Blanc from two complementary parcels on one of the oldest estates in South Africa’s Constantia Valley. Still youthful, intense and showing some tannic structure, it’s a superb, bone-dry expression of Constantia with notes of grapefruit pith, elderflower and wet stones. How wonderful to see a top Cape producer releasing a white wine with some bottle age.

BuyDrinking window: 2023-26Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, South Africa, White, Sauvignon Blanc
93

2020 Vinos López La Bodegaza Blanco Valdejalón, Aragón

( £16.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )

A wine that blew my mind at the Wine Society’s recent press tasting, this is an excellent new discovery from buyer Pierre Mansour. A Garnacha Blanca that tastes as good as it looks, it hails from 50-year-old vines in Valdejalón, and has incredible intensity and focus. Salty, bone dry and lightly toasty, it has lovely aromas of wet stones, jasmine and thyme and a palate of quinine, sourdough bread and citrus peel.

BuyDrinking window: 2023-28Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, Spain, White, Grenache Blanc