Going into the red
When the average spend on a bottle of wine is just £3.64, just what do you get if you throw caution to the wind and pay between £5 and £10? The answer is simple – quality.
That inexpensive, fruity bottle of wine that you may drink on a weekday night has most of the cost wrapped up in things that you never taste. After the cost of the bottle, cork, label and shipping, plus the UK duty of 1.29 and a retailer's margin of about 30 per cent if not more, the cost of the wine can be measured in pence not pounds. Think what happens as you go up the scale. Duty, shipping and most of the bottling costs remain the same, allowing a lot more money to go into the wine. The result is that when you spend 1 more than usual, you probably double the value of the wine inside the bottle. The higher you climb the price scale, the more is available to be spent on wine. It means that if you spend over a fiver, the wine will probably be made from lower yielding vines, a bit more care will have gone into the winemaking and there may have been some wood used for ageing.
Pay over 7 for a bottle and you are entering the quality zone. It means more generous margins all round, but it also means that a lot more care can go into the wine. Hand-picked grapes, oak maturation and more care in the vineyard are all possible when each link in the chain knows he is going to be paid for his work.
Here's my selection of red wines which are really worth their money between 5 and 10.
Pinot Noir
I love good Pinot Noir although you need deep pockets to really appreciate the nuances of this fickle, fabulous grape. Chile has taken Pinot Noir on board and Cono Sur in particular is making some excellent wines. Start with the basic Central Valley Pinot (Majestic 5.99, 4.99 multibuy) for light, strawberry-scented fruit but then trade up to the Vision Old Vine Block 2007 from Colchagua (Majestic 7.99, 6.39 multibuy) and taste the extra depth of flavour and with a few more plummy notes and even a touch of herbs on the finish.
From the Leyda Valley, Marks and Spencer has Secano Estate Pinot Noir 2007, a lovely, elegant wine that shows depth and concentration well above its price point of 6.99. Leyda is Chile's newest cool-climate vineyard region and is especially suited to Pinot Noir. Watch these prices rise in future years as the region becomes more established.
Once you have grown accustomed to the sweet fruit of Chile's Pinot Noir, then it is time to move to New Zealand and taste a touch more grip and backbone among deep fruit. The upmarket Highfield Estate in Marlborough is behind Tesco's own label "Finest" Marlborough Pinot Noir 2006 (9.99) which is made using traditional Burgundian techniques and shows concentration, class as well as a touch of smoky oak on the finish.
Marks and Spencer has the excellent Clocktower Pinot Noir 2006 made by Wither Hills (9.99) which I enjoy for its purity of fruit and clean, light style.
Of course, if you really enjoy Pinot Noir then France has to be your destination, but there are very few Burgundies that slide under the 10 bar without losing some of their charm. The one exception is Louis Jadot's C'tes de Beaune Villages 2005 (Waitrose 9.99) which is light, delicate and true to type. From further south, but still made by a Burgundian, Bouchard Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d'Oc 2006 (Majestic 5.99) has enough warm raspberry fruit to show the grape and the quality.
Cabernet Sauvignon and blends.
Bordeaux is the classic home of good Cabernet Sauvignon and the shelves are stacked with excellent wines this year. Head to Waitrose for the sensational "Partnership" Saint Emilion 2005 (8.99) made by Hubert de Board of Ch. Angelus fame. Partnership is a new range of wines at Waitrose which are made as a joint venture with significant producers around the world and while this wine is nothing like Ch Angelus, it still has a serious pedigree and terrific concentration.
Also at Waitrose is Ch Cantegrive 2005 C'tes de Castillon which is worth its 9.99 price for its sheer volume of flavour, dense blackcurrant and cherry fruit with a powerful structure. However, if you go to Waitrose next Wednesday, the price will have plummeted to 6.99. It should stay at the reduced price until mid-December but I think they will sell out pretty quickly so make a note in your diary. This wine is worth a detour.
Majestic has a number of good clarets for the festive season. Head first to Ch du Monthyl, a Mdoc wine from the hot summer of 2003. The wine shows its dense structure and fruity complexity, and at 6.99 (5.99 on multibuy) it is well worth a taste.
Rather more elegant and with some time to go is Ch Roylland 2005 (9.99), a St Emilion Grand Cru which
will need air if you want to drink it this season, but I would be happy losing it for a year or so and drinking it later.
For rather more obvious fruit and more powerful flavours head to Marks and Spencer for Tupungato Cabernet Malbec 2006 (6.49) from Catena Zapata. This comes from cool, high altitude vineyards in Argentina where yields are low providing ripe, red fruit flavours with a chunky texture.
Shiraz and Rh'ne varietals
Shiraz and its spicy collaborators of Grenache and Mourvdre are the perfect grapes to team up with warming winter food.
Head first to Marks and Spencer for Paradiso Shiraz 2007 (5.99) which is just arriving in stores. This comes from Luis Felipe Edwards in Chile and it is one of the best value Shiraz-based wines I have tasted this autumn. Big and gutsy with powerful peppery flavours it will thaw out your toes with just a few sips.
Less overwhelming but still good is Domaine Mandeville Shiraz 2006 (5.49) which is softer, more velvety and terrific value. Staying at M&S but moving to the Australian section is Ebenezer and Seppeltsfield Shiraz 2005 (9.99) a cracking wine which combines the depth and exuberance of Oz with ripe, concentrated fruit and careful winemaking.
Also exuberant but in a totally French manner is Chapoutier's C'tes du Rh'ne Villages (Waitrose 6.99). Made from organically-grown Grenache and Syrah grapes, it has density, structure and length as well as chocolate-dipped raspberry fruit. It tastes well above its price point and will happily go from a weekday supper to Saturday dinner.
Be prepared for the party season
There's something about French wines that makes them absolutely perfect for Christmas drinking.
Whether it is their classic style, their elegance or just the range of flavours that they offer, they complement the foods of the festive season with ease. This case combines some of the best flavours from the classic regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy with some from newer regions in Minervois and Ardche. The result is a case of distinct, delicious flavours that will be enjoyable for winter drinking.
This case would normally cost you 88.95 but we have negotiated a special deal of just 75 delivered to your door. That's a fabulous
saving of 13.95.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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