Under £10
Tesco Finest Frappato, Sicily, Italy 2013 (£6)
While Sicily’s nerelo mascalese makes pale but powerful rivals to Barolo on the slopes of Mount Etna, frappato is the island’s answer to the everyday easy-drinking of Piedmont’s dolcetto. Tesco’s version is effortlessly juicy, with its cherry acidity and strawberry fruit working well with tomato pasta and festive cold cuts.
Star Buy: Wine Atlas Bobal, Utiel-Requena, Spain 2014 (£4.97, Asda)
The best-value wine in the UK? This succulent southeastern Spanish red has to be in with a shout. Made with the help of sommelier-turned-wine producer Bruno Murciano (whose own versions of local variety bobal are well worth looking out for) it has a deep core of fresh dark plum, a hint of spice and cherry skin tang and supple tannins.
Marks & Spencer Syrah de l’Ardèche, France 2013 (£7.50)
The Cave Saint-Desirat is based in Saint-Joseph in the Northern Rhône, but here sources its grapes from outside the appellation for a more affordable take on syrah. Made in a lighter (12% abv), unoaked style that the French would call vin de soif, it has a bright peppered-raspberry character for pre-dinner or light-lunch charcuterie.
Taste the Difference Douro, Portugal 2012 (£8, Sainsbury’s)
From the home of port, and made by distinguished port and table wine producer Quinta do Crasto, this long-term favourite of mine in the Sainsbury’s range is as good as ever, offering a floral prettiness to go with its deep and vibrant fruits of the forest and damson and juicy tannins for Boxing Day roast beef.
Aldi The Exquisite Collection New Zealand Pinot Noir, Wairarapa, New Zealand 2014 (£6.99)
One of a number of wines in the Aldi range where the price tag prompts a double take: it’s rare to find decent pinot noir from anywhere at this price, let alone from New Zealand. Tasted alongside a range of sub-£10 pinots from around the world, it stood out for its bright and juicy red fruit seasoned with spicy oak.
El Chaparral de Vega Sindoa Old Vine Garnacha, Navarra, Spain 2013 (£10.49, or £7.86 in a ‘mixed six’, Majestic)
The titular old vines (70 to 100 years old) bring a real sense of balance to this vivid, winter-warming northern Spanish red: while it’s big, deep and rich in red and black berries and alcohol, it’s not at all overbearing, the tang of redcurrant and red plum and a shake of pepper and paprika freshening things up nicely.
Trapiche Pure Malbec, Mendoza Argentina 2014 (£8.99, The Co-operative)
Made without oak (hence “Pure”) this is Mendoza Malbec at is most immediately charming and fragrant and from the consistently good Trapiche, all plump black cherry, plum, black berries and violets tumbling out of the glass, while the tannins are delightfully supple and suave.
Château Monconseil Gazin, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux 2012 (£8.50, thewinesociety.com)
Malbec used to be much more widely planted in Bordeaux than it is today, but there’s a dash of the variety added to the usual cabernet and merlot recipe here and it brings flesh and aromatic prettiness to a charmingly juicy and fresh, pleasantly crunchy, young and vibrant claret for accompanying roast meats of all kinds.
Under £20
Thymiopoulos Xinomavro, Naoussa, Greece 2013 (£10.50, Marks & Spencer)
Another bold listing from the most adventurous of the supermarket wine departments, and a particularly successful one: star Greek winemaker Apostolus Thymiopoulos moulds the local xinomavro variety into a red of vivid wild bramble berry and sour cherry juiciness touched with aniseed and grippy tannin.
Château Belgrave Diane de Belgrave, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France 2008 (£12.99, The Co-operative)
It may not be the most widely acclaimed recent vintage in Bordeaux, but 2008 can be a happy, affordable hunting ground for those who like their claret in a fresher style. This nicely maturing second wine from classed growth Château Belgrave, for example, is beautifully balanced with classic flavours of cedar, blackcurrant and graphite.
Star Buy: Querciabella Chianti Classico, Italy 2006 (£18.99, Waitrose)
Nice to see a relatively mature sangiovese from one of Tuscany’s very best producers in a supermarket, even if it is in just seven stores (it’s also available online). Time has brought a savoury-truffle character, a touch of tobacco leaf, delicious red cherry and fine tannins to a very smart wine for the main festive event.
Château de Chambert Malbec, Cahors 2009 (£16.95, slurp.co.uk)
Never mind Argentina, the Cahors appellation in south-west France is malbec’s original home. Blended with a dollop of merlot, Château de Chambert’s example is iron fist/velvet glove stuff, with floral flashes and pretty red fruit combining with deep blackberry, sweet oak and red meat-friendly tannins.
Badoz Trousseau Rouge, Jura, France 2012 (£14.31, thesampler.co.uk)
There’s something of Burgundian pinot noir in the pale colour, bright acidity and flavours (red berries, wet earth and mushrooms) of Domaine Badoz’s trousseau from the Jura region east of Burgundy; in texture, it has more of the grip and grit of Italian nebbiolo. Either way, it’s a deliciously different match for a Christmas day dinner based on duck or game.
Château Milhau-Lacugue Les Truffières Saint-Chinian, France 2012 (£13.75, yapp.co.uk)
Big, bold and chewy, with bramble jam, liquorice, pepper and a waft of dry Mediterranean scrubland herbs, this evocative traditional southern French blend of grenache and syrah will appeal to lovers of that popular festive red wine choice Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but comes at a considerably more attractive price.
Weingut Claus Schneider Spätburgunder Weiler Schlipf, Baden, Germany 2012 (£16.95, swig.co.uk)
Like a number of Baden winemakers, Claus Schneider makes pinot noir (aka spätburgunder) to rival top Burgundy in quality. Unlike many of his peers, Schneider hasn’t copied top Burgundy’s pricing structure, which means this graceful red, with its silky feel and lifted red-fruit and forest floor fragrance, punches way above its featherweight.
Domaine Lucien Muzard Premier Cru Maladière Santenay Burgundy France 2013 (£19.99, Waitrose)
Proving it is still possible to find good red burgundy below £20 – and from premier cru vineyards (just below grand cru in the local hierarchy) at that – this beautifully modulated pinot noir has pure, bright red and black berry fruit, very fine tannins and a deftly applied swish of sweetly spicy oak.
Over £20
Broc Vine Starr Zinfandel, Sonoma, California, USA 2013 (from £25, thewinesociety.com; robersonwine.com)
One of the most pleasurable wines I tasted this year was also in many ways one of the most surprising: I’ve had many enjoyable zinfandels before, but never one as graceful and pretty as this. More softly berried beaujolais than bruising blockbuster, it’s a genuine star of the new, more elegant California.
Teusner Avatar GSM, Barossa Valley, Australia 2012 (£24.99, nywines.co.uk; adnams.co.uk)
With its fine-grained tannins polished to a sheen, its vibrant dark berry fruit, its dark chocolate and its seasoning of salt and pepper, this is a gloriously sensual, multilayered and muscular winter-warming blend of grenache, shiraz and mourvèdre from the highly respected Barossa winemaker Kym Teusner.
Domaine Font de Michelle, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France 2013 (£25.99, Waitrose)
When so much Châteauneuf-du-Pape is overpriced, it’s easy to forget how good the wines of the Rhône’s best known appellation can be. Here’s a reminder: with a twinkly-eyed brightness that belies its 14.5% alcohol, it’s a savoury mix of spice, leather, black olive, and dark fruit.
Luca Roagna Barolo La Pira, Italy 2009 (from £54.99, bbr.com, uncorked.co.uk, stannarywine.com)
Made by Luca Roagna, a young star of Piedmont working in a decidedly traditional, natural way, this is nebbiolo at its most haunting and ethereal, from the beautiful pale colour to the aromas of rose, rosehip, raspberry, thyme and forest floor, to the graceful, almost racy palate. Delightful, whether it’s served at Christmas dinner this year or presented as a cellar-worthy present for a wine lover.
