A four-way Corsican blend of Grenache and Syrah with local Nielluccio and Sciacarello, this is savoury-sweet and complex with a hint of the unshaven rusticity that’s often a feature of the local wines. An unusual French wine that speaks with an Italian accent.
Wine Type: Red
2012 Thymiopolous Jeunes Vignes, Naoussa
( £12.50, 13.5%, Oddbins )Oddbins pioneered Greeek wines in the UK and continues to do a great job of promoting its individual, invariably good value wines. Try this pale, complex Xynomavro, which tastes like a cross between a red Burgundy and a Barolo. The tannins need food to show at their best.
2012 Asda Extra Special Dão
( £5, 13.5, Asda )A tasty, appealingly priced blend of Touriga Nacional, Jaen and Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo), this tastes as good as it looks. Floral, fresh and lightly oaked with subtle red fruit flavours and tangy acidity that refreshes the palate. A total bargain. There aren’t many red wines this good selling for a fiver or less.
2011 Les Blancs Manteaux, Domaine de la Noblaie, Chinon, Loire Valley
( £13.50, 13%, Haynes, Hanson & Clark )The “white coats” in the name refers to the limestone soils that give this remarkable Cabernet Franc its refreshing minerality. Pure, almost transparent winemaking allows the terroir to speak. Grassy, elegant and refined with a long, polished finish and filigree tannins.
2012 David Reynaud, Beaumont, Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône Valley
( N/A, 12.5%, Liberty Wines )A Crozes-Hermitage under screwcap? You’d better believe it. David Reynaud’s wines are perfumed as it is, and the new clsoure should make sure that’s always the case. There’s no reduction here – sometimes a problem under screwcap for Syrah – just lots of bramble and blackberry fruit. Spicy, bright and mineral with delightful freshness.
2012 Fowles Wine, Are You Game? Shiraz, Victoria
( N/A, 13.7%, Enotria & Coe )Ignore the nudge nudge, wink wink name of this wine (it’s only a bit of fun anyway) and concentrate, instead, on what’s in the glass. Violets, bramble and some gentle spices, with a touch of cracked pepper make this a refreshing, easy drinking red. A dash of Tempranillo adds extra interest here.
2012 Innocent Bystander Syrah, Yarra Valley, Victoria
( N/A, 13%, Liberty Wines )Phil Sexton’s Yarra Valley winery is one of the most innovative in the region. It’s got a lot of tourist appeal, but it’s wines are deadly serious, too. This is a typically elegant, refined red, with fine-grained tannins, subtle pepper spice and plush raspberry and blueberry flavours and a minerally, refreshing finish.
2010 Seméli Reserve, Nemea
( £10.95, 14%, The Wine Society )It’s not the easiest grape in the world to love (those tannins can be a little firm, like a Greek version of the Portuguese Baga grape) but Agiorgitiko is that country’s best variety. This is a very fruity example, but it’s still got backbone and acidity behind the chalky red cherry and pomegranate flavours. Make sure you eat this with robust food or cheese.
2010 McGuigan, Hand Made Shiraz, Langhorne Creek, South Australia
( £25, 14.5%, Tesco Wine Online )A dense, inky, youthful Aussie Shiraz from the increasingly impressive Langhorne Creek region. Plush, lush, ripe and aromatic, it’s rich and supple, with mocha oak, smooth blackberry and vanilla cream flavours and a firm backbone of tannin.
2010 McGuigan, No 3471 The Shortlist Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia
( £15, 13%, Tesco Wine Online )Grassy, elegant and perfumed, this is a lighter style of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, showing notes of graphite, mint and green pepper and refreshing acidity supported by fine tannins. Not a wine to keep, but enjoyable to drink over the next couple of years.
2011 Falua, Terius, Touriga Nacional, Tejo
( £8, 13.5%, Marks & Spencer )The Tejo is not the first place you’d go in search of Touriga Nacional (a grape that’s more often associated with the Douro and Dão), but this is excellent value and packs a real punch at the price. Full bodied, firm and concentrated, it’s floral and perfumed with appealing balckberry fruit and good underlying structure, relying on fruit rather than oak for its appeal.
2013 La Bodega de los Altos Andes Malbec, Mendoza
( £4.99, 13.5%, Morrisons )Excellent value at less than a fiver, this is a savoury, peppery Mendoza Malbec with good acidity, no obvious oak and attractive plum and bramble fruit. Ligther fresher and – crucially – drier than many commercial Argentinean reds.