Paolo de Marchi is in the vanguard of Italy’s top rank producers with his switch to screwcaps. This, his top wine, is a stunning expression of Sangiovese, full of youthful, vibrant red cherry and damson skin fruit, with well integrated oak, medium tannins and bags of potential.
Wine Type: Red
2011 Changyu Cabernet/Gernischt, Ningxia, China
( £9.99, 12.5%, Waitrose )One of the more drinkable Chinese wines to cross my tasting bench, this is a quaffable, sweetish blend with slighty angular acidity and pleasant cassis and red cherry fruit. Not masively (or even slightly) complex, but certainly drinkable.
2010 Los Molles Carmenère, Limari
( £9.99, 14%, Marks & Spencer )Maybe I’m finally coming round to Carmenère, Chile’s USP. This hails from coastal Limari (it’s sourced from the Tabali winery) and has more freshness than most examples. It’s typically deep in colour, with notes of mint, blackcurrant pastille and plum, overlaid with sweet chocolatey oak and a zesty, grassy finish. Good now and should develop in bottle, too.
2011 Simply Garnacha, Campo de Borja
( £4.59, 13.5%, Tesco )It’s not easy to find really good glugging reds under £5 any more, but the Campo de Borja region in northern Spain would be my first port of call. This unoaked example from Bodegas Borsao is juicy, brambly and full of raspberry and redcurrant fruit. Soft and supple: pure, uncomplicated pleasure.
2009 Château de Campuget, Costières de Nîmes, Rhône
( £9.99, 13%, The Daily Drinker )Sourced from one of the best value appellations in the south of France, this varietal Syah is all about fruit purity and elegance, with notes of red cherry and blackberry and refreshing acidity.
2009 Trapiche Broquel Bonarda, Mendoza
( £10.99, 14%, Tesco )Bonarda could be one of Argentina’s USPs if only more producers made the wine as well as this rich, savoury, liquorice and blackberry-like red, with its sweet vanilla oak, medium weight tannins and spicy concentration. Serious stuff with an Italianate twist.
2010 Château l'Hospitalet, La Réserve, La Clape, La Clape, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £11.99 down to £8.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )La Clape (amusingly named if you’re a Brit) is one of the best appellations in the Languedoc, making wild, garrigue-scented wines like this blend of Strah, Grenache and Mourvèdre from ex-rugby player, Gérard Bertrand. Smoky, savoury and complex, with notes of tapenade, rosemary, black pepper and succulent blackberry fruit.
2011 Les Nivières, Saumur, Loire Valley
( £7.99 down to £5.99, 13%, Waitrose )Unoaked Loire Cabernet Franc remains one of the great bargains of the wine world: deliciously distinctive and refreshing. This one from the Cave de Saumur is consistently tasty, a supple, grassy, well balanced red with supple tannins, medium body and a refreshing cassis and green pepper finish. Even more impressive in a tricky vintage like 2011.
2010 Domaine du Grapillon d'Or, Gigondas, Rhône Valley
( £18.99 down to £14.24, 14.5%, Waitrose )This was one of the very best wines at the Waitrose tasting, a very smart southern Rhône red based on Grenache with 20% Syrah for added backbone. It’s a ripe wine, with 14.5% alcohol, but it’s subtle and elegant, too, reflecting the balance of the 2010 vintage. Supple and sweet, with notes of wild herbs, red fruits, medium tannins and a nuanced, finely crafted finish. This outclasses a lot of Châteauneuf-du-Papes.
2008 Domaine Courbis Champelrose, Cornas, Rhône Valley
( £19.99 down to £14.99, 13%, Waitrose )Cornas can make some of the chunkiest wines in the northern Rhône, but this is much more refined than many examples. It’s got lovely lifted crackedf pepper and clove spice on the nose, with subtle oak, hints of grilled meat and red fruits and a fine, refreshing finish. The wine will comfortably age for another eight years or more.
2010 Torre del Falco Nero di Troia, Puglia
( £7.99 down to £5.99, 13%, Waitrose )Nero di Troia is often regarded as the third best of Puglia’s native grapes, behind Primitivo and Negroamaro, but it can be just as good in my book. This one is bright and aromatic, with no oak to clutter the pristine fruit flavours. It’s minerally and refreshing on the palate with red cherry and raspberry notes and a tang of acidity.
2008 Cousiño Macul Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley
( £9.99 down to £7.49, 14%, Waitrose )Pure Cabernet from the Maipo Valley is one of the most distinctive wine styles in the New World. And this is a classic of the genre, with notes of mint and blackcurrant leaf and an undertone of green pepper and mint. Refreshing and nicely balanced, with the oak adding a subtle sweetness to the wine.