WHITES UNDER £10

1 2008 Errazuriz Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley (£4.99 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic) Reduced from £7.99, which makes it a stunning deal, this is an easy-drinking, peach and citrus fruit Chilean Chardonnay with a touch of oak.

2 2008 Vouvray La Couronne des Plantagenets (£5.79, 12%, Sainsbury's) Chenin Blanc is responsible for some of the best-value whites in the world. This pineappley, tart yet medium-sweet example is a case in point.

3 2008 Riff Pinot Grigio, Venezie, Alois Lageder (£5.97, 12%, Asda) I am no great fan of Pinot Grigio, except when it tastes as good as this. Pears and apples jostle for supremacy on the palate of this soft, flavoursome white.

4 2008 Château de la Grave, Grains Fins, Côtes de Bourg Blanc (£6.25, 13%, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com) This Right Bank Bordeaux appellation makes some of the region's best whites. Waxy, herbal and almost oily with nicely integrated oak.

5 2008 La Basca Uvas Blancas, Telmo Rodriguez (£6.49, 12.5%, Marks & Spencer) Classic, grapefruity, smoky, unoaked Verdejo from Castilla-León, blended with 40% Viura to add a hint of pepper spice. Good richness from old bush vines.

6 2009 Costero Riesling, Viña Leyda (£6.95 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic) Riesling is a comparatively rare grape in Chile, let along the Leyda Valley, but this makes you wonder why: minerally, dry and zingy with flavours of fresh limes.

7 2008 Sauvignon de Touraine, Domaine du Pré Baron (£6.49 each for two, 13%, Majestic) Given the price of bog-standard Sancerre these days, why not buy this crisp, faintly smoky, elderfloral Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc instead?

8 2002 Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett Bischšfliche Weingüter Trier (£7.49 each for two, 7.5%, Majestic) Majestic is good at sniffing out mature German Riesling. This is light and elegant with sweetness balanced by cool climate acidity.

9 2008 Domäne Wachau The Terraces Grüner Veltliner, Wachau ( £7.99, 12%, Waitrose) Could this wine be the breakthrough for Austria's signature white grape? Let's hope so, as it's spicy, peppery and crisp, with good weight for a 12% alcohol wine.

10 2008 Yalumba Viognier, Eden Valley (£9.99, 14%, Waitrose) Viognier can be something of an acquired taste – real one-glass wine territory – but not when it's as good as this ripe, creamy, apricot-scented example from Down Under.

REDS UNDER £10

1 Asda Tempranillo NV (£3.08, 12.5%, Asda) Not all £3 wine offerings are worth buying by any means. But this particular bottle is an exception. Unoaked and with soft, raspberryish notes, it is ideal for a festive party.

2 2008 Yali Winemaker's Selection Cabernet/Carmenère, Rapel Valley (£4.49 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic) Reduced from £6.49 to a palate-watering price, this Chilean red is soft and vibrant with nicely intermingled flavours of mint, chocolate and cassis.

3 2008 Grant Burge Benchmark Shiraz (£5.95, 14.5%, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com) Bags of colour and bags of flavour. You'd be hard pushed to find a better Aussie quaffer under £6 than this silky, supple, brambly Shiraz.

4 2006 Fontaine du Roy, Costières de Nîmes (£5.99, 14%, Waitrose) A blend of five grapes (including Marselan, no less) that's far more than the sum of its parts, showing savoury, smoky blackberry fruit and fine-grained tannins.

5 2008 Bouchard Pinot Noir, Vin de Pays de l'Aude (£5.99. 13%, Sainsbury) There aren't many contenders, to be honest, but this is the best cheap Pinot Noir on the market: lightly oaked cherry fruity, yet with a touch of autumnal funkiness, too.

6 2007 Château La Dournie, Saint Chinian (£6.99 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic) Saint Chinian is one of my favourite Languedoc appellations. This balanced, aromatic, savoury blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan is fresher than you'd imagine.

7 2008 Palatia Pinot Noir, Pfalz (£7.99, 13.5%, Marks & Spencer) Pinot Noir from Germany? You bet. This oak-aged example is juicy and fresh, with svelte tannins, refreshing acidity and sweet raspberry and strawberry fruit.

8 2007 Ascencion Malbec, Salta (£7.99, 14.5%, Laithwaite's, www.laithwaites.co.uk) Produced at Bodegas Colomé in the cactus-dotted, far north of Argentina, this is a big wine, but it has the freshness and violet perfume of high-altitude Malbec.

9 2007 Sacravite Aglianico, d'Angelo (£7.99, 13%, Majestic) Who says southern Italy can't produce great red wines? This sturdy, flavoursome Aglianico from Basilicata is serious stuff that needs food to soften its tannins.

10 2005 d'Arry's Original Grenache/Shiraz (£8.99, 14.5%, The Co-op, Oddbins) You might not look to McLaren Vale for subtlety, but what you do get is plenty of flavour. This is a fruity, smooth, full-blooded Aussie take on a Rhône blend.

WHITES OVER £10

1 2007 Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese, Von Hšvel (£11.80, Tanners, www.tanners-wines.co.uk) A great Saar Riesling from a brilliant recent vintage, with austere, peach and crisp apple notes balanced by a touch of sweetness. Freshness in liquid form.

2 2008 Sancerre, Domaine Naudet (£11.99, 13%, Waitrose) If you're a Sancerre addict who needs a fix, even at the current high prices, this is the one to go for: fresh and stylish with smoky minerality and a tangy, dry finish.

3 2008 Tenuta Luisa, Friulano del Friuil (£11.99, 14.3%, Waitrose) Sourced from a small family domaine in northeast Italy, this rich, nutty, spicy white has a fresh, straw-like aroma to it and a pleasantly bitter apple-skin note.

4 2003 Lehmann Margaret Semillon, Barossa Valley (£14.99, 11.5%, Laithwaite's, www.laithwaites.co.uk) Semillon is capable of making delicate white wines that age for a decade or more in Australia. Waxy, toasty and bone dry, this is perfection in a bottle.

5 2007 Sequillo White, The Sadie Family (£15.50, 14%, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com) Eben Sadie is a Cape superstar, making reds and whites of extraordinary complexity. This Chenin meets the Rhône style is exotic, harmonious and subtly oaked.

6 2008 Saint Aubin Premier Cru, Domaine Gérard Thomas (£16.99, 13%, Majestic) Saint Aubin is a great source of well-priced white Burgundies such as this taut, youthful, lees-influenced, vanilla spicy Chardonnay. One to lay down, too.

7 2008 Château Doisy-Daëne Sec, Bordeaux (£16, 12.2%, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com) You'll have to go online to order this, but it's worth the hassle because it's an amazing white Bordeaux with bright, focused grapefruit and vanilla complexity.

8 2007 Loimer Riesling Langenlois Terrassen (£17.49, 12.5%, Waitrose Wine Direct) Dry Austrian Rieslings are some of Europe's most underrated white wines. This has bracing acidity, but it's balanced by floral, stone-fruit flavours.

9 2007 Condrieu, Domaine Michel Ogier (£35.95, 13.5%, Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.bbr.com) Is it worth paying for Condrieu when there is so much good, cheaper Viognier available from elsewhere? When it's as good as this elegant white, it certainly is.

10 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet, Premier Cru Chaumés, Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard (£39, 13.5%, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com) White Burgundy at its best. Young, with fresh flavours, with oak and a creamy mid-palate.

REDS OVER £10

1 2007 Fabre et Montmayou Gran Reserva Malbec, Mendoza (£11.99, 14.5%, Laithwaite's, www.laithwaites.co.uk) You might need to give this dense, purple Argentinean Malbec some time, but it's worth the wait. Ripe, concentrated and profound.

2 2007 Craggy Range Bannockburn Sluicings Vineyard Pinot Noir Central Otago (£12.79, 14%, Majestic) If anyone needs convincing that New Zealand outperforms red Burgundy under £15, give them this plush, harmonious, sweet-cored Pinot Noir.

3 2001 Rioja Reserva Imperial, CVNE (£13.99 each for two, 13.5%, Majestic) A Tempranillo-based Rioja that neatly straddles the boundary between modern and traditional styles, this is mature, complex and sweetly oaked.

4 2008 Matetic EQ Syrah, San Antonio Valley (£15.99 each for two, 14.5%, Majestic) I wouldn't advise you to drink this right now, but if you're looking for a wine for Christmas 2010, this spicy, fleshy, chocolatey Chilean red is delicious.

5 2006 Cantina di Negrar Amarone della Valpolicella (£16.99, 15%, Waitrose) Christmas is a great time to drink Amarone, Italy's biggest and most concentrated red. This is complex stuff: tobacco, raisins, lots of red fruit and powerful tannins.

6 2000 Château Tour du Haut Moulin, Haut-Médoc (£19, 12.5%, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com) A 2000 claret that's drinking beautifully. With fine tannins, fresh acidity and developed, gamey flavours, it's perfect for Christmas lunch.

7 2007 Cornas, Granit 30, Vincent Paris (£23.99, 13%, Waitrose Wine Direct) Partial ageing in stainless steel has given this Cornas a freshness and perfume that some examples lack. Peppery, spicy, complex and appealingly elegant.

8 2006 De Toren Fusion V, Stellenbosch (£24, 14.5%, www.swig.co.uk) V is a reference to the five Bordeaux red grapes. This is one of the Cape's best Bordeaux blends with exciting flavours of mint, blackcurrant and wood smoke.

9 2006 Passopisciaro, IGT, Sicily (£26.79, 14.5%, Corney & Barrow, www.corneyandbarrow.co.uk) Made from the rare Sicilian Nerello Mascalese grape, this is like a turbo-charged red Burgundy. Pale, complex, raspberry-scented yet with lots of body.

10 2007 Te Mata Coleraine Cabernet/Merlot, Hawke's Bay (£31, 14%, Laithwaite's, www.laithwaites.co.uk) An elegant, silky Bordeaux-style blend that ages quite brilliantly. The most recent release could be the best yet from this established winery.

For more from Tim Atkin, visit www.thewinegang.com