91

2017 Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva, Maipo Valley

( £14, 13.5%, Tesco )

Carmen is among the oldest wineries in Chile, but has one of the most dynamic young winemakers in Emily Faulconer. This is a classic Maipo Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that has benefited from a few years in bottle but will age and develop for a while yet. Serious, structured and intense, it has appealing notes of bramble, eucalyptus and blackcurrant leaf, sinewy, savoury tannins, deftly handled oak and impressive freshness and acidity for a hot vintage.

BuyDrinking window: 2021-25Similar Wines: £10-15, 90-94, Chile, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon
90

2018 Kanonkop Kadette Cape Blend, Stellenbosch

( £11, on offer at £9 until February 14, 14.5%, Tesco )

You can only applaud a winery – especially one as famous as Kanonkop – that makes 1.7 million bottles of a wine of this quality. Dominated by Pinotage, with the remaining 63% made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it’s a floral, textured, well-structured cuvée with notes of mint and dried herbs and a core of cassis and raspberry fruit.

BuyDrinking window: 2021-25Similar Wines: £5-£10, 90-94, South Africa, Red, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinotage
94

2017 Scala Dei Prior, Priorat

( £33, 14.5%, Great Wine Co )

Based on Garnacha, with the remaining 35% made up of Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Prior is what Ricard Rofes calls a “key in the door of Priorat”, in that it introduces you to the different zones of the denominación. Wild, savoury and intense, with floral black cherry and damson fruit, a herbal undertone, pithy minerality and some clove spice from 30% whole bunch fermentation. One of the most structured wines in the range.

BuyDrinking window: 2021-28Similar Wines: £30-35, 90-94, Spain, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cariñena, Garnacha, Merlot
92

2011 Château des Fougères Clos Montesquieu La Raison, Graves

( £15, 12.5%, Tesco )

There’s something about this time of year that makes me want to drink claret. I’m generally far too busy enjoying less classic fare to think about the Gironde, but red Bordeaux is just the thing with the turkey. This marriage of Merlot with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, curated by ace consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt, is entirely unoaked, relying on fruit purity, fine tannins and supporting acidity. It’s just tipping over into middle age, with tobacco and autumn leaf aromas and fleshy red berry and fruitcake flavours. Really delicious at the price.

BuyDrinking window: 2020-24Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, France, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
98

2018 Concha y Toro Don Melchor, Puente Alto, Maipo Valley

( £95, 14.5%, Cru World Wines, Harrods, Hedonism Wines, Penistone Wine Cellars )

2018 is rightly regarded as one of the best Chilean red wine vintages of the last 30 years, so it’s no surprise that the latest release of Don Melchor is so special. Made from 181 lots covering 151 different vineyard parcels, it’s a pure, refined expression of the Andes-cooled Puente Alto terroir. This is only the second time that the blend has included all four Bordeaux varieties on the estate – it’s 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot – and the wine is suitably nuanced and well balanced. Scented and floral, with some wild herb top notes, it’s an icon that marries energy with power and grip. The tannins are polished, the fruit intense, with cassis and red berry flavours complemented by fresh acidity and scented coffee bean oak.

BuyDrinking window: 2023-33Similar Wines: £95-105, 95-100, Chile, Red, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
90

2017 M&S Classics Chianti Riserva, Chianti, Tuscany

( £8, 13.5%, Marks & Spencer )

Part of the generally impressive new Classics range from Marks & Spencer, this reminded me what cracking value Chianti can deliver under £10. Made by Cecchi, it’s Sangiovese based with 30% Colorino and a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon for extra backbone. Very lightly wooded – what do you expect for £8? – it’s bright, aromatic and savoury, with the classic Italian combination of racy acidity and some tannic grip and layers of red cherry and raspberry fruit. Refreshing and well balanced, it’s just the thing for early autumn drinking.

BuyDrinking window: 2020-24Similar Wines: £8-10, 90-94, Italy, Red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Colorino, Sangiovese
94

2017 Rustenberg John X Merriman, Stellenbosch

( £15.99, 14.5%, Cambridge Wine Merchants, Dunells, Frontier Fine Wines, Great Grog, Lea & Sandeman, Majestic, Portland Wine Company, Waitrose )

Stellenbosch struck gold in 2017, with one of the best ever red wine vintages in the Cape. This refined, well-structured Bordeaux blend, made at one of the most historic properties on the Simonsberg, is unbelievably good value and would wipe the winery floor with similarly priced wines from south-west France. Cassis, black cherry, graphite and cigar box notes are framed by fine, age worthy tannins and bright, refreshing acidity. Some retailers may be on the very good 2018, but the 2017 is the one to go for.

BuyDrinking window: 2020-27Similar Wines: £15-20, 90-94, South Africa, Red, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot

Crab brains and Cabernet

by Matt Walls
The last twenty metres of road aren’t yet tarmacked on the way to He Jin Zun winery in Ningxia, northern China, so we get out and crunch over the gravel...

The perfect 8/10 vintage

by Matt Walls
Last week I opened a bottle of 2010 Bordeaux. Nothing fancy – Château La Tour de By, a reliable Cru Bourgeois from the Médoc. Nope; still not ready. It hardly...
91

2013 Trinity Hill The Gimblett, Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay

( £17, 13.5% )

An impressive, four-way blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, assisted by Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a dash of Petit Verdot, that nods towards the Médoc as much as its native New World. Floral, refined and well balanced with stylish, savoury oak, a solid backbone of tannin and a tangy, refreshing finish. A wien that slides over the tongue. 

BuyDrinking window: 2017-21Similar Wines: £10-£20, 91-95, New Zealand, Red, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon