A great value blend of Picapoll Negre, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot made in an easy drinking style, with a touch of oak for added structure and complexity. Supple, attractive, raspberry and red cherry fruit with smooth tannins and balancing acidity. A really good quaffing red.
Score Range: 86-90
2011 Celler de Capçanes, Mas Collet, Barrica, Montsant
( £12, 14% )An oak-aged blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo, Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Capçanes co-operative that shows why Montsant is such a good value alternative to neighbouring Priorat. The oak is just a top note here, despite the name of the wine, adding complexity to the flavours of plum, cassis and hot stones. The wine finishes with a dry, mineral flourish that ties it all together, like a bow on a gift-wrapped present.
NV Modella Prosecco Extra Dry
( £9.99, 11%, The Solent Cellar, Wright Wine )A stylishly packaged, well priced Prosecco made in an off-dry style, showing bright, youthful, white flowers and orange zest-scented aromas and flavours. The bubbles are small and frothy, the wine very drinkable and creamy.
2013 Quinta de Azevedo, Vinho Verde
( £7.25, 11%, The Wine Society )The price of this eminently gluggable Vinho Verde has crept up in recent years (although it’s sometimes on a deal at Majestic), but it was almost too cheap before, given its quality. It’s light and refreshing, with appealing spritz, a whiff of the Atlantic and delicious peach, guava and citrus notes. Just as good as many more expensive Spanish Albariños produced on the other side of the border.
2012 Angosto Almendros Sauvignon Blanc/Verdejo, Valencia
( £12.95, 12.5%, Berry Bros & Rudd )A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo from Valencia? Not exactly run of the mill stuff, but this white duo from Spain’s eastern coast is very tasty stuff. It’s ripe and spicy, with sweet vanilla oak, flavours of pear and honeysuckle and a hint of ginger for good measure. Highly unusual, and further confirmation that Spain’s white wines are on a roll.
2012 João Portugal Ramos, F'Oz, Alentejano
( £8.49, 14%, Waitrose )João Portugal (yes, that’s his name) Ramos makes some of the best value reds in Iberia. This southerrn Portuguese blend of Aragonez, Trincadeira and Castelão is well up to his usual high standards, combining flavours of blackberry, bramble and orange zest in a wine that’s fruity, refreshing, yet substantial enough to serve with red meat.
2012 The Society's Corbières, Corbières, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £7.25, 14%, The Wine Society )You can find cheaper Corbières on the market, some of which will challenge your dental enamel, but this delivers plenty of wine at the price. Sourced from Château Ollieux Romanis, it’s a youthful, wild herb-scented red with the accent squarely on fruit rather than oak. Juicy, bouncy and bright, it’s just the thing for a summer (or late spring) barbecue.
2011 Canyon Park, The Guardians MRV, Danube Plain
( £14.95, 13%, The Wine Society )With a name like Canyon Park, let alone a price tag close to £15, the last place you’d expect this blend of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier to come from is Bulgaria, but the country that gave us impossibly cheap Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1980s is emerging from the Eastern European doldrums at last. This is smoky, savoury and perfumed, with aromas of jasmine and honeysuckle, ripe, pear and apricot flavours and subtle oak integration. A sign of very good things to come?
2012 Evans & Tate Metricup Road Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia
( £17.95, 14%, South Down Cellars )If you’re a fan of slightly old fashioned Aussie Chardonnays, rather than the Burgundian tastealikes that are increasingly being produced in regions like the Adelaide Hills and the Yarra Valley, you’ll love this peachy, ripe, pineapple fruity wine from Western Australia. It’s a big, bold wine with attractive, toasty oak and enough lemony acididty for balance.
2012 Tikves Smederevka Rkaciteli, Macedonia
( £6.99, 12%, Marks & Spencer )Its’ great to see a UK supermarket taking a punt on a Macedonian wine made from indigenous grapes (to be strictly accurate, Rkaciteli originated in Georgia, but Smederevka is a local staple). This is a white that has maintained acidity in warm conditions, a little like Assyrtiko in Greece, and it’s deliciosuly crisp and refreshing, with notes of fennel, lemon peel and a bitter twist that’s reminiscent of Italy.
2013 Tesco Beaujolais Villages
( £6.49, 12.5%, Tesco )The older I get, the more I want to drink refreshing wines that don’t tire my palate, which may explain why I’m drinking more and more Beaujolais. This is Gamay and its gluggable, lip-smacking best, with juicy red berry and bramble fruit, bright acidity and supple tannins. Chill it before serving and see how versatile it is with food.
2013 The Ned Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £9.99, 12.5%, Majestic, Waitrose )Brent Marris’ well-distributed Sauvignon tends to be on a deal more often than not, but even at its full retail price it delivers in the glass, unfurling flavours of passion fruit, gooseberry and melon. Flavoursome stuff at a fair price.