Weekday wines

Tina Gellie recommends 25 great-value wines you’ll find on the UK shelves for under £25

Looking to try something different or adventurous, but don’t want to make an expensive mistake? Decanter’s associate editor Tina Gellie has done the hard work for you, picking out 25 exciting and accessible wines available in the UK for £25 or less

Jansz, Premium Cuvée, Tasmania, Australia NV 90 £15.99 Waitrose One of Australia’s most reliable sparklers. The green apple palate (from cool-climate Apple Isle fruit) is enlivened by zippy citrus acidity, with complexity coming from two years on its lees and 5% of the blend being matured in old barriques before second fermentation. Alc 12% Leeuwin Estate, Art Series Riesling, Margaret River, Western Australia 2016 91 £21.99-£23.99 Bottle Apostle, Domaine Direct, Hedonism, In Vino Veritas, Yorkshire Vintners This tight, linear baby still needs time to get opulent, but should have a fine future thanks to firm citrus acidity. For now, enjoy its gentle floral, peach aromas and flinty apple palate. Alc 12%

Domaine des Aubuisières, Bernard Fouquet, Le Marigny Sec, Vouvray, Loire, France 2016 90 £14.95 From Vineyards Direct A rich single-vineyard Chenin with fine balance of ripe apple and peach flavours, racy acidity and subtle spice notes from oak fermentation and lees ageing. Lovely now as a match for creamy pork dishes, but it will cellar well too. Alc 13% Segura Viudas, Tesco Finest Brut Reserva, Cava, Spain 2014 89 £9 Tesco The Segura Viudas estate has roots dating back to the 11th century but ‘only’ started making Cava in the 1850s. Using the three traditional Cava grapes, this shows a fresh aroma, tangy, creamy apple flavours and zippy acidity. A well-priced drop. Alc 12% Chateau Souverain, Chardonnay, California, US 2016 90 £10.99 Waitrose An elegant Chardonnay that’s miles away from California’s oaky, high-alcohol blockbusters of old. Packed with tropical fruit and spiced pear, complexity and texture come from part-fermentation in oak and lees ageing. Lovely caramel popcorn length. Alc 13.9% Momento, Chenin Blanc-Verdelho, South Africa 2016 90 £21.80 Lay & Wheeler The 22% Verdelho in this blend has increased from 9% in 2015 (it’s even more than the 15% of the inaugural vintage), giving a tangy and savoury edge to the old-vine Chenin. A unique, textured wine with complex oxidative notes and lingering flavours of spiced apple and quince. Alc 13.5%

Cavit, Bottega Vinae Nosiola, Toblino, Trentino, Italy 2017 89 £7.99-£9.99 Ake & Humphries, Amps, D Byrne, Highbury Vintners, Noel Young, WoodWinters Cavit has access to nearly half of Trentino’s 26.5ha of Nosiola, a grape best known for its use in Vin Santo. Its name comes from nocciola – hazlenut – and you can taste them here, along with honey-spiced apples, on the creamy mineral palate. Alc 12.5% Quails’ Gate, Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 2015 89 £23 Berkmann, Corking Wines Canadian wine is still a rare (and expensive) sight in the UK, but worth the gamble when you do spot it. This elegant Chardonnay is full of tropical and stone fruit, buttery vanilla richness from oak and lees ageing, with refreshing acidity to balance. Alc 13% Thymiopoulos, Atma Assyrtiko, Imathia, Greece 2017 89 £8.99 Waitrose From 20-year-old vines planted at 500m, Assyrtiko’s classic steely acidity is well tempered here by creamy, leesy notes. The textured lemon verbena and fresh greengage palate is a perfect choice to match fish or seafood. Look out for the white Malagouzia and red Xinomavro in the Atma range too. Alc 12.5% Aix, Rosé, Côteaux d’Aix en Provence, France 2017 89 £16-£21 Amazon UK, Mentzendorff, Ministry of Drinks, Thorne Wines Maison St-Aix is a 130-year-old domaine that farms 75ha of vines. This blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault is a classic example of the Provence style, full of fresh melon, berry and floral notes and bright acidity. You can find magnums on offer for £24.99. Alc 13% Danaris, Grüner Veltliner, Niederösterreich, Austria 2017 89 £10.99 Laithwaite’s Danaris, named for the Danube river, is made by the historic Winzer Krems winery. The spritzy, mineral palate shows Grüner Veltliner’s classic varietal characters of tart orchard fruit, zesty citrus acidity and a touch of white pepper spice. Alc 12% Terre à Terre, Down to Earth Sauvignon Blanc, Wrattonbully, South Australia 2016 89 £17.95 Vagabond Terre à Terre is owned and run by husband-and-wife Xavier Bizot and Lucy Croser. This single-vineyard wine is an atypical Sauvignon; not herbal at all, but full of ripe, jucy peach and mango in a complex, ageworthy style. Alc 13.5% Babylonstoren, Mourvèdre Rosé, South Africa, 2018 90 £16 www.babylonstoren.com With the harvest in the New World only finishing at the end of April, this is one of the first 2018 wines on UK shelves. Fresh, ripe, creamy strawberry with gentle pink grapefruit acidity. The colour – and taste – would be perfect for salmon. Buy it direct from the Cape with free shipping in the UK. Alc 13% The Society’s, Rosé, Corsica, France 2017 89 £9.95 The Wine Society This pale pink will please those who like savoury, herbal rosés rather than more fruit-forward examples. Nielluccio (the Corsican name for Sangiovese) and the local Sciaccarello grape form 80% of the blend, giving tangy red fruit and bright citrus on an appeallingly, rustic, dry palate. Alc 12.5%