Deal or no deal?

Allan Mullins is a glass-half-full kinda guy, so we asked him to find you some excellent-value bottles under

R85 that’ll help you maintain your drinking standards and your bank balance (take that, VAT!) Marras Piekenierskloof Chenin Blanc 2017, R69.99

Winemaker Martin “Marras” Lamprecht produces complex, flavourful wines from 30-year-old dryland bush vines on the Piekenierskloof mountain pass between Piketberg and Citrusdal, where West Coast evening breezes ensure cooler ripening conditions.

Tasting notes: The terroir delivers minerality and white fruit character (litchi, pear, white peach); cold fermentation captures freshness; five percent barrel fermentation adds texture; and six months on the lees provides beautiful creaminess. Drink it with: Martin enjoys it with panfried linefish with garlic-and-lime butter, served with a shaved fennel-and-green apple salad with orange dressing.

1. THE UNWOODED CHENIN

2. THE FRESH WHITE BLEND

Ashbourne Sauvignon BlancChardonnay 2017, R80.69 Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are unusual blending partners but they work well together in this corner of the Hamilton Russell vineyards in the cool-climate Walker Bay region. (Take a moment to appreciate the label, illustrated with the flora and fauna of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, including the property’s rare arum frogs.)