An ambitious, Xarel-lo-based Cava that spent 30 months on lees before disgorgement, this is rich, toasty and savoury, with creamy bubbles, a dry finish and bags of nutty, honeyed complexity. A first class alternative to cheap Champagne.
2013 Oller del Mas, Petit Bernat, Pla de Bages
( £9, 14% )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.
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.
NV Champagne Deutz, Brut Classic, Champagne
( £36, 12, Berry Bros & Rudd )Deutz produces wines at the more elegant end of the spectrum, expressing finesse rather than power and concentration. This is floral and well balanced, with flavours of nut, digestive biscuit and stone fruit, a supple mousse and a well balanced, refreshing finish.
NV Les Pionniers Selected Cuvée for the Co-operative, Champagne
( £19.99, 12%, The Co-operative )A strong candidate for the best value supermarket bubbly under £20, this is a special blend of mostly Pinot Noir with 20% Pinot Meunier and 10% Chardonnay. It’s a malty, comparatively dry style with lots of reserve wine richness, flavours of raspberry and milk chocolate, a hint of toasty autolysis and a creamy, well-balanced mid-palate. Smart fizz at the price.
NV Henriot Rosé, Champagne
( £46, 12%, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols, Oddbins, Planet of the Grapes )A rosé that deserves to be just as famous as Laurent Perrier’s, this is a blend of mostly Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs with a little Pinot Meunier. The high percentage of reserve wines (25%) gives the wine added depth and complexity. It’s a complex, red fruit-dominated rosé with a hint of blackcurrant leaf, a balsamic undertone, fine bubbles and refeshing acidity. A really good food rosé.
2010 Harvey Nichols Sauternes, Sauternes, Bordeaux
( £15 per half, 14%, Harvey Nichols )Any retailer that sources its Sauternes from Château Coutet (in Barsac) is aiming high and this is a delicious sticky from a vintage that is better known for reds than whites in Bordeaux. This is richer and sweeter than Coutet often tends to be, but it’s still a treat, with flavours of pineapple and barley sugar, medium acidity, subtle oak and rich, honeyed mouthfilling complexity.
2011 Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
( £29.50, 13.5% )Te Koko is made in much smaller quantities than Cloudy Bay’s regular Sauvignon Blanc, and it’s a much more interesting wine, benefiting from wild yeast fermentation in French oak. Some people find the funky flavours a little challenging, but I love them. This is smoky and complex, with yeasty, doughy aromas, pithy grapefruit-like acidity, a touch of wax and gunflint and long, lingering finish. A wine that wouldn’t look out of place in Pessac-Léognan.
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 Mas Amiel, N Vers le Nord, Maury Sec, Languedoc Roussillon
( POA, 14% )I was sent this wine direct from France, so I don’t have a UK stockist for it, but it surely won’t be long before someone imports it, because it’s one of the best red wines I’ve ever had from the Roussillon region. Made from a combination of Grenace and Syrah, grown on three different soil types, it’s a marvel. Deeply coloured, concentrated, yet not over-ripe or pruney in the least (something that’s not true of a lot of dry Maury reds) it’s mineral and tangy, with a chalky undertone and flavours of balckberry, plum and sweet Asian spices. A remarkable red wine.