Outside the northern Rhône, Marsanne is rarely bottled as a stand alone grape. But it’s found an exciting new home in the Voor Paardeberg region of the Western Cape. This unwooded, lees-aged example is made by the talented Trizanne Barnard. Aromas of honeysuckle and anise guide you into palate of pear, peach and lemon zest complemented by plenty of zip and acidity.
Retailer: Marks & Spencer
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.
2021 M&S Collection Ebenezer & Seppeltsfield Barossa Shiraz, Barossa Valley
( £14, 14.5%, Marks & Spencer )The kind of thing that made me fall in love with Australian wine back in the 1980s, this is a classy, full-bodied Barossa Valley Shiraz from the Langmeil winery. Combining grapes from two vineyards, Ebenezer and Seppeltsfield, on different soil types, it has plenty of texture, structure and concentration, blackberry, summer pudding, liquorice and five spice flavours and some vanilla and coconut sweetness from ageing in French and American oak.
2021 M&S Found Saperavi, Kakheti
( £10, 13%, Marks & Spencer )If Saperavi were French, it would be one of the world’s most famous red grapes. Instead, Georgia’s premium variety remains something of a secret to most UK wine drinkers. This tasty, toothsome example, sold under Marks & Spencer’s very good Found range, comes from the premium region of Kakheti, where the limestone soils always seem to give the wines a chalky frisson. Plum and damson fruit flavours are supported by protein-friendly tannins and racy acidity.
2021 La Chablisienne Petit Chablis, Chablis, Burgundy
( £14, 12%, Marks & Spencer )Chablis has had a run of warmer vintages over the last eight years, robbing it of the things that make it so distinctive – sea breeze freshness and chiselled acidity. But 2021 was a partial return to the later, cooler harvests of the past, and all the better as a result. This unwooded Chardonnay from the impressive La Chablisienne co-operative is tangy and textured, with citrus and oyster shell flavours and a pithy finish.
2021 M&S Found Weißburgunder, Pfalz
( £9.50, 12.5%, Marks & Spencer )Gerd Stepp, the winemaker behind the very tasty Found Pfalz Pinot Blanc (aka Weißburgunder) used to be a buyer at Marks & Spencer but is now back in his native Germany sourcing wines like this one. Creamy and textured, with some weight from lees contact in tank, flavours of pear, quince and wet stones and a fresh, palate-cleansing finish.
2020 Found Grenache Blanc, Western Cape
( £8, 14%, Marks & Spencer )Part of the impressive Found range of off-the-beaten-track varieties from Marks & Spencer (most of the line up is worth trying), this is a delicious Grenache Blanc from the Perderberg winery, made with dry-farmed grapes by Albertus Louw. Showing the zingy freshness that’s typical of many 2020 Cape whites, this is intense, focused and unwooded, with green apple, citrus and aromatic herb notes and impressive underlying concentration for a wine at £8.
2019 Earth's End Pinot Noir, Central Otago
( £15, 14%, Marks & Spencer )With its distinctive Haka label, Earth’s End Pinot Noir has long been one of the stand out wines in the Marks & Spencer range and is on coruscating form right now. Made by the talented Duncan Forsyth, a man whose flamboyant suits match the brilliance of his wines, this is sappy, savoury and focused, with wild strawberry and red cherry fruit, some underlying stony grip and a whisper of wood spices.
2019 Viñalta Malbec, Mendoza
( £9.00, 14%, Marks & Spencer )Frenchman Hervé Joyaux Fabre makes some of the best value Malbecs in Argentina, as well as some equally smart top-end wines in Mendoza, Patagonia and back in Cahors. This red from the excellent 2019 vintage is entirely unoaked, leaving the variety to sing at the top of its lungs. Floral, enticing and juicy, it has supple, undulating tannins, zesty acidity and a core of bramble and blackberry fruit. Just the thing to cheer you up now that the clocks have gone back.
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.
2018 Stepp Riesling S, Kallstadter Saumagen, Pfalz
( £15, 13.5%, Marks & Spencer )Gerd Stepp used to work at Marks & Spencer before he went back to his native Germany to make wine again. Our loss was the Pfalz’s gain, as this is one of the best dry Rieslings on the market for £15 or under. Sourced from the Kallstadter Saumagen vineyard on soils with a high percentage of limestone, it’s wonderfully racy, taut and complex with some creamy weight from six months on its fermentation lees, pithy minerality, lime, jasmine and wet stone notes and a thrilling finish.
2018 Palataia Pinot Noir, Pfalz
( £9.00, 13.5%, Marks & Spencer )Gerd Stepp used to be a buyer at Marks & Spencer, but has now gone back to his original career as a winemaker in the Pfalz. People are often surprised to learn how much Pinot Noir (aka Spätburgunder) Germany produces and just how good it can be. For Pinot lovers who’ve almost given up on finding enjoyable expressions of their beloved grape under £10, this unoaked example is a godsend: smooth, supple and strawberry fruity with crunchy acidity and a sweet core.