NEW YEAR’S EVE REDS

2017 Il Sarmento Nero di Troia, Puglia, Italy (£5.50, Co-op) IL SARMENTO is my bargain-priced red wine of the year and this amazingly aromatic red is a complete and utter crowd-pleaser. Ripe and juicy on the palate and nicely bitter on the finish, this is the definitive party wine with a confident, but eclectic feel, which will keep your guests on their toes. 2016 Gran Passo Classico, Lisboa, Portugal (£7.99, reduced to £6.49 until January 1, Waitrose) GRAN PASSO is a brilliant budget Portuguese red. It takes no prisoners with its robust flavours and no-nonsense attitude. For a £6 wine there is considerable depth of fruit and spice. I would match it to rich, meaty food and perhaps decant it to allow it to breathe. 2017 La Curiosité Minervois, France (£10.50, Corney & Barrow, 020 7265 2430 and corney andbarrow.com) THIS Minervois is a beauty, with full, spicy, dark fruit. But the most interesting thing about this wine is that it delivers its amazing flavour without ever being too heavy or overbearing. The fruit is dense and chewy, but also energetic and refreshing, which means that you can certainly polish off a few glasses without it tiring your palate. 2016 Pittnauer Pitti, Burgenland, Austria (£13, Oddbins) RATHER than finishing my red collection with a monster, I have decided to introduce you to the opposite style — a fairy-light red with all the delicacy and charm of a white wine. It is hard to find delicious red wine to start a party, but Pitti is one of them. Harmonious, soothing and cultured, this is a connoisseur’s party red. 2016 Lafou El Sender Terra Alta, Penedès, Spain (£10.99, 78 branches of Waitrose waitrosecellar.com) I AM ramping up the power of these New Year’s Eve wines and this is the biggest and boldest of all. El Sender is an exotically perfumed powerhouse of a red with oak nuances infiltrating the black fruit core. There is tannin here, which means that you will need rare meat, gravy or some other juiciness to balance these dry flavours. It will be worth the challenge because this is a heroic red wine.