Best wines from the High Street

With Brian Elliott

2019 Extra Special Carmenere £6.50 at Asda

Despite all Chile’s other excellent red wines, this is a smooth and inexpensive reminder never to underestimate the country’s signature carmenere grape. The attributes already quoted are delightfully supported here by figgy, black cherry and damson flavours, balanced tannin, fresh acidity and suggestions of chocolate, green pepper and eucalyptus.

2019 Pierre Jaurant Bordeaux Blanc £5.49 at Aldi

Over 200 years before New Zealand’s South Island moved from sheep farming to vines, sauvignon blanc was producing wine in Bordeaux. And good sauvignon is still made there (often blended with semillon to provide extra texture). Here, then, is a great example of Bordeaux’s dry white wines that delivers those predictable fragrant gooseberry flavours and sharp acidity but supported in this case by sweetedged hints of peach and melon.

2020 L F E Bin 31 Merlot £5.99 – instead of £8.99 until

March 2 – at Waitrose

With much inexpensive merlot currently light in both colour and texture, this dark and substantial version from one of Chile’s major players is very welcome. The wine itself is vibrant and nutty with rich cherry and raspberry flavours, good acidity, background mint and aniseed influences but only minimal tannin.

ON-WINE SHOPPING 2019 Uva Non Grata Gros Manseng £9.75 at www.chester beerandwine.co.uk

Among the excellent local grape varieties South West France currently offers (usually at great value prices), you frequently find both petit manseng and gros manseng. The first is the marginally better known but, increasingly, wine like this is underlining just how brilliant the “gros” version can be. Textured and ripe, it has floral apple, quince and apricot flavours with good sherbetlike acidity – all attractively wrapped in herbal depth.

Brian Elliott is a wine writer, judge and founder of Promotions can change at short notice, so shoppers should enquire if prices differ.