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.
Retailer: Ocado
2019 Yalumba Organic Viognier, South Australia
( £8.49-£10, 13.5%, Ocado, Tesco, Waitrose )Louisa Rose is the queen of Australian Viognier and probably makes larger volumes of the variety – to a commendably high standard – than anyone else in the world. This unoaked example, made from organically grown grapes, is everything you want from the grape: honeysuckle and stem ginger aromas, lots of creamy, pillowy weight, flavours of peach and apricot and a lively, refreshing finish. The Ocado price is the best right now, but the wine is widely available elsewhere.
2003 Quinta do Noval, Vintage Port, Douro Valley
( £68, 19.5%, Ocado )It’s always hot in the Douro, but it was really, really hot in 2003 and I think it shows in the wines. This is a big, if slightly pruney style with more than a hint of Douro bake. Packed with black fruits and liquorice and pretty serious tannins, it needs more time in bottle to sweeten up and shed some of the sturdy backbone.
1997 Quinta do Noval Colheita Port, Douro Valley
( £39, 21.5%, Fine Wines Direct, Ocado, SH Jones )If you’re a fan of vintage dated Tawnies (aka Colheita Ports), they don’t come much better than this. It’s endearlingly, palate-stimulatingly spicy, with real intensity and focus, an impression of heat and figgy intensity, a faint undertone of spirit and a finish that lingers on the palate for minutes. The wine is drier than many examples, with the structure that is the hallmark of Noval’s wood-aged Ports.
Quinta do Noval 10 Year Old Tawny Port, Douro Valley
( £18.99, 21.5%, Fortnum & Mason, Ocado, Tanners, Waitrose )The received wisdom (at least round my gaff) is that 20-year-old Tawnies are better than the 10-year-old versions, but this wine challenges that. It will improve further in bottle, but it’s remarkable now, an intense, nutty, figgy fortified with more tannin and concentration than commerical Tawnies at lower price points. In short, it’s worth the extra cash: a sweet, yet structured, wood-matured Port with impressive palate length.
2011 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache, Barossa Valley, South Australia
( £11.99, 14%, Ocado, Slurp, Tesco, The Co-operative )Grenache should be all about sun-kissed drinkability, which is exactly what you get in the bottle here. It’s quite pale in colour (as Grenache can be), with notes of Asian spices, red fruits and deftly handled oak. Savoury, peppery and deceptively forward, this is a wine that develops with time in the glass.