Delicious Barolo, like delicious red Burgundy, is hard to find under £20, let alone at closer to £10, but Matteo Ascheri is brilliant at finding parcels of Italy’s most tempertmental grape that deliver flavour as well as value for money. This is a riper style (it was a warm vintage), but combines aromas of rose petal and red fruits with savoury, smoky tannins and a classically firm, even austere finish. A great introduction to the joys of Nebbiolo.
2010 Viñalba Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec/Merlot, Mendoza
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 14.5%, Sainsbury's )Hervé Joyaux has brought a French sensibility to Argentina, producing well balanced reds at appealing prices that have more than a hint of sophistication. This a pretty serious Bordeaux blend for less than £10, with sweet French oak, appealing violet and bramble aromas, good underlying strucuture and plush, layered tannins. Great value.
2012 Miguel Torres Reserva de Pueblo, Cepa PaÃs, Itata Valley
( £7.50, 12, The Wine Society )PaÃs (known as Mission in California and Criolla in Argentina) was the grape that the Spaniards brought first to South America. For all its antiquity, it tends to make pretty basic wines, largely because it’s mostly over-cropped and grown in the wrong places. This Chilean example shows another side to the variety, made with carbonic maceration for maximum fruit impact and soft, sweetly textured tannins. Bright and juicy, with notes of raspberry, red cherrry and just a hint of pepper spice, it’s the perfect summery red. Pass me the ice bucket.
2011 Emma Zuccardi, Bonarda, Mendoza
( £19.75, 14.5%, Corkingwines.co.uk )Bonarda is regarded as something of a quaffing variety in Argentina, good for everyday drinking but not capable of anything more exciting. But hang on…this is an incredible red from Sebastián Zuccardi, which takes the variety to new heights. Brambly, savoury and intense, with plum and blueberry fruit, sweet oak and old vine concentration.
2012 Pewsey Vale, Riesling, Eden Valley
( £13.30, 12.5%, Slurp, Winedirect )Pewsey Vale, Yalumba’s Eden Valley outpost, makes some of my favourite Aussie Rieslings. They are good young but develop stylshly in bottle. This is crisp, focused and tangy with lime and pink grapefruit flavours and a stony, pithy backbone of acidity. Long and focused on the palate.
NV Jansz, Premium Non Vintage Cuvée, Tasmania
( £15.75, 12.5% )Jansz’s “ordinary” cuvée is pretty good, so you’d expect a premium cuvée to be even better. And, guess what, you won’t be disappointed. This is a little richer and toastier than the regular release, with notes of toast and cream and a supple cushion of bubbles. Appealingly dry.
NV Tio Pepe, Fino En Rama, Jerez
( £13, 15% )If you love Fino Sherry – and who doesn’t? – this is about as good as it gets: an unfined, unfiltered fortified that was bottled in April when the flor yeast is at its thickest on the surface of the wine, giving it that bready, savoury complexity. More deeply coloured than the regular Tio Pepe, this is a salty, tangy delight that’s absolutely brilliant with a plate of anchovies or almonds. Essence of Andalusia.
2011 Greywacke Pinot Gris, Marlborough
( £13.33, 14%, thedrinkshop.com )Made in a spicy, off-dry style that takes its inspiration from Alsace rather than northern Italy, this is a finely weighted Pinot Gris, with musk, peach and pear flavours, a creamy texture and enough acidity for balance. Exotic, but refreshing at the same time.
Greywacke Wild Sauvignon, Marlborough
( £17.49, 14%, Excel Wines )Kevin Judd is a master of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. As its name suggests, this is his wild yeast-fermented expression of the grape, along the lines of Cloudy Bay’s Te Koko. It’s a stunning wine, combining notes of white Burgundy, white Bordeaux and Kiwi fruit exuberance. The older oak is very subtle, the savoury, grapefruity, yeasty flavours perfectly judged.
2012 Viñalba Torrontés Selección, Mendoza
( £9.99, 13.5%, Majestic )A winery that is best known for its great value Argentinean reds, Viñalba can strut its stuff with white grapes too. This is a classically aromatic example of Torrontés, Argentina’s adopted white grape, with lemon peel and sherbet flavours, bright acidity and a hint of lime zest.
2011 Esprit de Puisseguin, Puisseguin Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux
( £11.99, 13.5%, Waitrose )After the hoopla surrounding the 2009 and 2010 vintages in Bordeaux, 2011 was bound to be a bit of a let down, despite the fact that it produced plenty of decent wines. This is a case in point: a Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend that’s supple and forward (especially for the vintage), with attractive, grassy, refreshing flavours and a nip of tannin.
2012 Cristina Ascheri, Arneis, Langhe, Piedmont
( £13.95, 13.5%, Great Western Wine )Arneis is Piedmont’s best white grape in my opinion, especially when it offers the sort of value and fruit concentration on show here from Ascheri in Bra. Refeshing and zesty, with a slight spritz, but with plenty of weight and concentration behind, with pear and angelica spice and a deliciously bitter twist.