You only get a half bottle of this for your money, but I wouldn’t complain. When they are this good, Loire sweet wines wipe the winery floor with similarly priced stickies from Sauternes. There’s some old oak used to age the wine, but it’s just there as a background note, supporting the stylish, minerally, honey and ripe pear flavours. This is liquid tarte tatin, a delicious Coteaux du Layon from the Premier Cru slopes of Chaume.
2010 Rustenberg Straw Wine, Coastal Region
( 13.49, 10.5%, Waitrose )Made from grapes dried on straw mats to concentrate their sugars and flavours, this is a remarkable, barrel-aged blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Crouchen, with rich, mouthcoating flavours of apricot syrup, honey, vanilla pod and citrus fruit. There’s a slight volatile lift that adds to the complexity of the wine here.
1977 D'Oliveiras Reserva Terrantez, Madeira
( £55 down to £41.25, 20%, Waitrose )Bottled in 2008 (which means it spent more than 30 years in cask), this is the sort of wine that everyone should drink once in their life. It has the classic green tinge of mature Madeira, as well as the marked acidity of the best examples. Savoury, complex and fine, this has a classic cheesy undertone, with mature, smoky, incense-like aromas and flavours. Yes, it’s expensive, but at 25% off, now is the time to buy it. Or offer it as a Christmas present.
NV Warre's Bottle-Aged Late-Bottled Port, Port
( £19.99 down to £14.99, 20%, Waitrose )LBV Port covers a variety of styles and levels of seriousness, but this is right up there with the very best examples. It was bottled in 2005 and matured for a further four years before release and the result is a wine of great balance and spicy concentration. Smoky, peppery and fine with no obvious rough edges of spirit, just finesse, depth and complexity.
2009 Domaine Lucien Muzard, Premier Cru Maladière, Santenay, Burgundy
( £19.99 down to £14.99, 13%, Waitrose )A Premier Cru Burgundy from a great recent vintage for less than £15? Bargain time! This is rich, sweet and savoury, with bgas of sweet fruit, plenty of smoky oak and the concentration and texture to age in bottle for another five years at least. The finish is fine and refreshing, reflectingf the limestone slope on which it was grown.
2010 BLANKbottle The White Black, Western Cape
( £18.50, 13.5%, Stone, Vine & Sun )Yet another name to add to the list of stunning white blends that are emerging from South Africa, Pieter Walser’s delicious cuvée of Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Clairette and a splash of Chardonnay tastes as good as it looks. Honey, apple and stone fruit flavours are nicely framed by gentle vanilla oak, with richness, spice and minerality all adding to the overall complexity of the wine. Long and well balanced, this is a remarkable buy under £20.
2010 Negroamaro Rosso Filimei, L'Astore Masseria, Puglia
( £14.95, 13.5%, Berry Bros & Rudd )Negroamaro is often dismissed in northern Italy as a southern grape that lacks finesse, but it is capable of a delicacy and freshness that wouldn’t look out of place in a Pinot Noir or Nebbiolo if it’s sensitively handled. This is a case in point, an unoaaked, cherry stone and raspberry-scented red with notes of wild herbs and a nip of tannin. It’s light-bodied, too, especially by the standards of some beefy Puglian reds. A delight.
2011 Carmagnole Prestige, Caramany, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £9.99, 14%, Marks & Spencer )Caramany is the westernmost of the Côtes du Roussillon’s top appellations. Its altitude and comparatively cool conditions, allied to granite and quartz soils, produce wines of remarkable freshness and poise, just like this one. Cracked pepper and spice, with red fruits and bright acidity. The old vine Carignan gives the wine some savoury ballast.
2010 Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage, Les Meysonniers, Rhône Valley
( £15.99 down to £11.99, 13%, Sainsbury's )The enfant terrible of the Rhône is at the top of his form right now, even on wines from lesser appellations, such as Crozes-Hermitage. This has classic Syrah aromas of tapenade and smoked meat, allied to freshness, brightness and length. It’s organic, its unoaked and it’s truly delicious.
2005 La Capannuccia Chianti Rufina, Tuscany
( £14.99 down to £11.24, 12.5%, Sainsbury's )Always good to see an Italian wine with some bottle age on a supermarket shelf, especially when it’s as good as this Sangiovese-based Tuscan red. It’s made in a modernised traditional style, with lovely floral, tealeafy flavours, fresh acidity and savoury, complex tannins. Drink it with a good winter stew and it will taste even better.
2010 Kanonkop Kadette, Stellenbosch
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 14%, Sainsbury's )This is only the baby wine from this historic Cape winery (hence Kadette) but it’s still very impressive. A blend of mostly Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon with splashes of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it’s elegant and poised with polished tannins, seamless integration between the varieties and lots of potential. Long and well balanced, this carries its 14% alcohol with effortless grace.
2009 Mayu Syrah Reserva, Elquí Valley
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 14%, Sainsbury's )The coastal region of Elquí, close to the edge of the Atacama desert, is one of the most exciting in the world. And the wines from this Italian-influenced winery are leading the way. This has the cool climate pepperiness of Syrah (the Pacific is not far away) with notes of raspberry, tomato leaf and clove spice. Close your eyes and you could be drinking something very grand from the Rhône Valley.