A youthful, easy-drinking, well-priced Cabernet Franc grown on clay and limestone soils on the Champ de Liveau plateau, this is grassy and refreshing with supple tannins, plenty of the perfume that’s typical of the variety and a twist of graphite. Very attractive at the price.
Price Range: Under £5
2013 La Bodega de los Altos Andes Malbec, Mendoza
( £4.99, 13.5%, Morrisons )Excellent value at less than a fiver, this is a savoury, peppery Mendoza Malbec with good acidity, no obvious oak and attractive plum and bramble fruit. Ligther fresher and – crucially – drier than many commercial Argentinean reds.
2012 Simply Garnacha Rosé, Campo de Borja
( £4.59 down to £3.44, 13.5%, Tesco )You don’t get much for less than £3.50 these days, but this Garnacha pink from Bodegas Borsao is very drinkable stuff: dry and pleasantly fruity with flavours of rosehip, cherry and strawberry and vibrant acidity, especially noteworthy from such a warm Spanish region. A chance of celebrate the end of a memorable summer in the UK.
2011 Simply Garnacha, Campo de Borja
( £4.59, 13.5%, Tesco )It’s not easy to find really good glugging reds under £5 any more, but the Campo de Borja region in northern Spain would be my first port of call. This unoaked example from Bodegas Borsao is juicy, brambly and full of raspberry and redcurrant fruit. Soft and supple: pure, uncomplicated pleasure.
2009 Jean-Luc Aegerter, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )A new name to me, but one to remember, for this is a stylish wine. Youthful and light, albeit in a modern, fruity style, with sweet oak backed up by scented pomegranate and raspberry fruit and subtly interwoven oak. Fresh and lively on the palate with very good length and appealing sweetness.
2009 Thibault Liger-Belair, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )A Nuits St Georges-based producer whose wines are improving with every vintage, Thibault Liger-Belair makes wines that age well, but have plenty of fruit in their youth. This is a little alcoholic on the palate (hard to avoid in 2009), but has attractive cherrystone and raspberry fruit, subtle oak and enough frehsness and minerality to develop in bottle.
2009 François Gerbet, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Mid ruby/garnet. There’s some slightly off-putting reduction on the nose here, that’s emphasised by the smoky oak. The wine finishes with high acidity and not enough friut. In short, it’s out of kilter. Or was when I tasted it.
2009 Maison Champy, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Pale garnet/pink. There’s some smoky reduction on the nose and palate initially, but it’s balanced by attractive red fruit flavours. The acidity is suprisingly high for a 2009 (is this yield related?) and the wine is just a little short on texture and weight, but it’s still an enjoyable Pinot.
2009 Chanson, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Not the most exciting Clos de Vougeot on the market. It’s decently made, with lots of sweet fruit and oak, but the wine seems rather four-square, with too much extraction and a rather firm, dry finish.
2009 Louis Latour, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Another winery that is in the running for my heavy bottle Burgundy award. Mid garnet/red in colour. The palate shows sweet oak, reasonable concentration, some raspeberry coulis notes and good acidity, with appealing balance. It’s more of a village level wine than a Grand Cru, but it’s still a decent Pinot.
2009 François Lamarche, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Better known for its holdings in Vosne-Romanée, this domaine produces densely powerful wines with a lot of oak. That’s the case here too: big, dense, low yield-derived Pinot with the barrel staves a little too dominant on the palate and a dry, almost Italianate finish. Not my style of Pinot.
2009 Leymarie-Ceci, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
( ££££, 13.5%, Fine + Rare )Mid ruby with a hint of purple. A muscular wine: big and bold and aromatic. But the oak seems excessive to me somehow, with lots of coffee bean and smoky oak that’s smothering the fruit flavours. The domaine could spend less on barrels and improve its wines in my view.