Weekday wines
Looking to try something different or adventurous, but don’t want to make an expensive mistake? The Decanter team has done the hard work for you, picking out 25 exciting and accessible wines available in the UK priced at £25 or less
Chapel Down, Sparkling Bacchus, England NV 89 £19.99 Majestic
Bacchus is fast becoming England’s signature grape, and this sparkling version is an easy introduction into English fizz. It may not have the cachet of the Champagne varieties, but it offers gooseberry scents with smooth notes of cut grass, lime and juicy stone fruits. Slips down easily. JB Alcohol 12%
Delaire Graff, Chenin Blanc Reserve, Swartland, South Africa 2018 92 £16.95-£18 The Secret Cellar, Twelve Green Bottles
A delicious, complex wine from 30- to 40-year-old vines. With an array of tropical and mineral flavours, expressive citrus and touches of almond and honey, it has a lovely weight making it great for food pairing. Vibrant, and great value! GH Alc 13.5%
Vigneti Tardis, Venerdì Bianco, Campania, Italy 2017 92 B £23 Berry Bros & Rudd
A field blend based on Fiano, the nose is reminiscent of fino Sherry, with baked apple, herbs and a creamy caramelised hint. Three months in old barrels adds texture to the bone-dry palate, full of crisp apple, pink grapefruit, delicate salinity and a long, fresh finish. JS Alc 13%
Calvet, Brut Rosé, Crémant de Bordeaux, France NV 89 £12.99 Ocado
A light, aromatic crémant made in the traditional method from Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Crunchy strawberry and raspberry flavours with a touch of biscuit, fine bubbles filling the mouth, balanced acidity and a rounded finish. Great as an aperitif – worth trading up from cheaper options. GH Alc 11.5%
Eva Fricke, Mellifluous Elements, Rheingau, Germany 2018 92 £19.95 Berry Bros & Rudd
A gorgeous, expressive wine with so much going on. Striking nose of grapefruit and peach with lemon and gooseberries on the palate underpinned by crystalline minerality. The texture is almost oily, with a slightly sweet sensation from the residual sugar, but it’s very well integrated with a lovely lift on the finish. GH Alc 12%
Westcott Vineyards, Estate Chardonnay, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada 2017 92 £22.95 South Downs Cellars
Yeasty pie crust and spiced baked apple palate, and fully integrated, well-judged oak. Enlivened by crisp red apple acidity, this elegant Chardonnay is drinking beautifully now. TG Alc 12.5%
Sileni, Straits Grand Reserve, Marlborough, New Zealand 2019 92
£14.99 Boutinot
Named after the Sileni, the hedonistic companions of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, this is an equally exuberant Kiwi Sauvignon (once the youthful nose opens up), boasting lush mango, peach and fresh herbal flavours. The best parcels of grapes were used, and it spends time on lees for added complexity, the yeasty creaminess not masking the mouthwateringly fresh acidity. Top value! TG Alc 13% ➢
Domaine de la Mortaine, Gros Plant, Pays Nantais, Loire, France 2018 91 £10.50 Yapp Bros
Unless you’ve holidayed around Nantes, you’ve likely not tasted Gros Plant (aka Folle Blanche) – unfairly called ‘the poor man’s Muscadet’. This is bone-dry, citrussy and seaspray fresh, with wet-stone tanginess and biting acidity – perfect for shellfish, sushi or on its own. TG Alc 11.5%
Château Mercian, Koshu Gris de Gris, Fuefuki, Yamanashi, Japan 2018 90 £15.99 Boutinot
Skin-contact Koshus give a richer expression of Japan’s indigenous variety. Salmonpink in colour, this has candied pear and strawberry aromas, juicy berry and yuzu zest on the palate, along with textured tannins and a citrus peel-like finish. SW Alc 11.5%
Sainsbury’s, Taste the Difference Petit Chablis, Burgundy, France 2018 89 £10.50 Sainsbury’s
Classy and classic nose of citrus and mineral, with a struckmatch character too. The clean, crisp palate also has a lovely creaminess, all underpinned by a streak of minerality. Fresh, well-balanced and great value for money. JS Alc 12%
Château MilhauLacugue, Les Curées, St-Chinian, Languedoc, France 2008 93 £19.99 Yapp Bros
A gracefully mature SyrahGrenache blend, drinking perfectly now. Velvety tannins enrobe seductive brambles, truffle, leather, tarmac, herbs and seaweed, with beautiful oak integration from 18 months in large barrels. TG Alc 15%
Errazuriz, Sauvignon Blanc, Aconcagua Valley, Chile 2018 91 £9 Morrisons
If you prefer a more mineral and food-friendly style of Sauvignon Blanc, this one is a delicious choice. Limey and rather savoury, it has flint and struck-match aromas leading to fresh herbs, crunchy green apple and more lime on the palate. SW Alc 13%
Frei Brothers, Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA 2017 89 £17.99 Waitrose
Quite a rich style, but in balance. Melon and tropical fruit, with a lick of buttercream oak. The cool-climate location of the vineyards keeps it fresh. A great buy for New World Chardonnay lovers, especially when on offer. AW Alc 14%
Berry Bros & Rudd, Bourgogne Côte d’Or Pinot Noir by Benjamin Leroux, Burgundy, France 2018 93 £23.50 Berry Bros & Rudd
From old vines in a declassified Chorey-lès-Beaune vineyard. Fresh raspberry and cherry aromas, more raspberry and redcurrant on the palate, fine-grained tannins and delicate spiced oak from time in old barrels. JS Alc 13%
Berry Bros & Rudd, St-Emilion by Château de Fonbel, Bordeaux, France 2016 91 £23.95 Berry Bros & Rudd
A classic St-Emilion grand cru: smooth and velvety-textured, cherry and raspberry fruits with a hint of florality, succulence and elegance, making this a great pick. It’s made by the co-owner of Château Ausone, so you know you’re in good hands here. GH Alc 13%
Reyneke, Syrah, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2017 93 B £18 New Generation Wines
An accomplished Syrah from South Africa’s first biodynamic producer. Johan Reyneke works with handpicked grapes, one third of which are foot-trodden. Natural fermentation is followed by 14 months in oak. The result is a harmonious wine with attractive, violet-edged raspberry and blueberry aromas and a whiff of smoke. Bright red and black fruit on the palate is wrapped in silky tannins, with spicy, savoury hints. JS Alc 13%
Pata Negra, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2015 91 £15.99/150cl Aldi
Cracking value for a magnum of Rioja Reserva that would be perfect with haggis for a Burns Night supper with friends, this shows a hint of saddle leather alongside sweet balsamic strawberry fruit. It still has enough fresh acidity and structure from 30 months’ oak ageing to develop for several years yet. TG Alc 13.5%
Kendall-Jackson, Grand Reserve Cabernet, California, USA 2010 90 £25 Chester Beer & Wine, The Wine Society
The Kendall-Jackson brand is a giant of US wine whose reds are worth seeking out once often overt oaky flavours settle down. This boasts notes of cigar box, nutmeg and mocha joining rich currant and black cherry fruit. TG Alc 13.5%
Wynns Coonawarra Estate, The Siding Cabernet Sauvignon, South Australia 2015 90 £12 Co-op
Great value from Sue Hodder, one of Australia’s best-known winemakers, this is bursting with fleshy but fresh dark cassis fruit and a hint of mocha. Coonawarra Cabernet is a New World classic, and this elegant example is worth seeking out. AW Alc 13.5%
Weinert, Carrascal Corte Clasico, Mendoza, Argentina 2015 89 £10.95 The Wine Society
The younger sibling to Weinert’s Cavas de Weinert, this is also a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but aged for less time, in large old casks. Displays lovely leathery, cedary notes alongside the brambly fruit, the oak not intrusive, but the tannins firm. Decant before serving. AW Alc 14.5%
Cantina di Nizza, Le Pole, Barbera d’Asti, Piedmont, Italy 2018 90 £11.99 Liberty Wines
This co-op was founded in 1955 and today has 200 members with 550ha of vineyards. Its impressive portfolio includes this vivacious, food-friendly red with minimal oak influence. Bags of bright, black cherry fruit and great acidity – lively, fresh, moreish. AW Alc 13.5%
Tandem, Inmune, Navarra, Spain 2017 90 £13.49 Novel Wines, Wine People
Tandem has blended grapes from several vineyards in Navarra, all at 800m altitude, imparting a natural freshness to this unoaked Garnacha. Black cherry aromas with black pepper. Spicy palate with fresh acidity and crunchy tannins alongside the ripe black fruit. Leathery notes and more spice on the finish. JS Alc 14.5%
Morrisons, The Best Nerello Mascalese, Sicily, Italy 2018 89 £7.75 Morrisons
A heart-warming Nerello Mascalese, one of Sicily’s star varieties. Aromas of dark plum and prune with hints of rose; sweet, ripe red berry and black plum flavours, as you’d expect from this sun-kissed island, the residual sugar well supported by fresh acidity and a decent tannin structure. SW Alc 13.5%
Lidl, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, Southwest France 2017 91 £7.99 Lidl
A hardy perennial in Lidl’s winter line-up, you can see why its popularity endures, with its exuberant ripe quince flavours that remain fresh thanks to the acidity. It’s two-thirds Gros Manseng, with Petit Manseng and Petit Courbu, a blend that works incredibly well in this sweet style. AW Alc 12%
De Bortoli, Sumptuously Rich Pudding Wine, New South Wales, Australia NV 93
£8.99/37.5cl Aldi
What a treat! Dark caramel in colour, this pudding wine (made primarily from the Red Frontignac grape and aged in oak for eight years) has a warmth of cosseting raisin, coffee and treacle flavours. It’s made by one of Australia’s most famous and reliable dessert wine producers, and their generations of know-how sing from the glass. Perfect served chilled, with a slice of fruit cake. AW Alc 18%