3 Best wines from the High Street

2018 Roussanne Domaine du Grand Selve £5.99 at Lidl while stocks last This well priced guy from Languedoc is my pick among the inexpensive whites in Lidl’s current Wine Tour promotion. It uses a lovely Rhone Valley grape (roussanne) to create attractively textured wine with apple and lemon fruit, good acidity but appealing background hints of the sweeter spices too.

2017 Casillero Del Diablo Cabernet £6.50 – instead of £8 until November 5 – at the Co-op The name (Devil’s Cellar) still makes me smile. Apparently, years ago the Chilean producer circulated rumours that his best cellar was haunted by Old Nick as a successful ploy to stop locals from stealing its content. The wine remains pretty sound with, in this case, well defined, smooth, medium bodied plum and blackcurrant fruit, good acidity, firm tannin and touches of mocha, mint and smoky cinnamon.

2018 Winemaker’s Choice Riesling £4.75 at Asda Here is another thoroughly modern German white. It is from the massive Pfalz region where the noble riesling is slowly replacing the inferior varieties of old. One result is wine like this light, great value offering with smooth but fresh green apple fruit set against an attractive spicy background.

ON-WINE SHOPPING: 2018 Bullfrog From £7.99 at www. laithwaites.co.uk Unusually, this is a blend from more than one country – France and Spain (as its name implies). It successfully combines French malbec and cabernet with syrah from Spain and is available at this keen price on a multi-buy at Laithwaites. The wine itself delivers smooth, herbal, loganberry and black cherry with good acidity supported by allspice, chocolate and toffee elements but with only limited tannin.

Brian Elliott is a wine judge and blogger and a widely read wine writer throughout Scotland who reminds us that promotions can change at short notice. Although prices are verified as the magazine goes to press, shoppers should enquire in store if problems arise.