3 Best wines from the High Street

2017 Calvet Muscadet £5.95 at Sainsbury’s Muscadet, from France’s Loire estuary, has been off the radar for a while but recent vintages have been increasingly successful. This great value option illustrates the point brilliantly with smooth but textured pear and lemon fruit, lime-based acidity and those distinctive saline edges the region does so well.

2013 Les Sources De Livran, Château Livran £5.99 at Majestic Since lots of wine is released far too early, it is good to find an inexpensive option from Bordeaux’s prestigious Medoc region with a bit of bottle age. Despite being produced in a difficult year there (2013), this wine has a smooth and soft texture, good acidity, balanced tannin coupled with a backdrop of eucalyptus, aniseed and baking spice that adds complexity to its cherry and red plum fruit.

2017 Vina del Cura Rioja £5 at Tesco Complex, sophisticated Rioja this is not – but it works well as a brilliantly priced introduction to the region’s red wines. Floral touches nicely underpin the wine’s plum and cherry fruit which is well supported by orange influenced acidity, suggestions of cinnamon, mint and pepper but relatively firm tannin.

ON-WINE SHOPPING:

2018 Hommage a Colette Grenache Blanc £8.60 at www. corneyandbarrow.com Corney & Barrow has a nice range of wines online and in its physical Whighams store in Ayr. Here they join the chorus of support for “warm climate” white wine from Southern France with a blend from Languedoc that is led by white grenache. It has classic pear and quince fruit built into a creamy texture but supplemented by floral touches, a hint of honey and lively lime acidity.