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 £20 or less

Costellore, Prosecco, Veneto, Italy NV

88 £13.99/magnum Aldi Costellore’s Organic Prosecco is a better fizz, but this magnum of the Extra Dry (confusingly, a medium level of sweetness), with its pear drop, peach and floral flavours, has enough acidity to balance, and will lift lockdown spirits. Often on special for just £9.99! TG Alcohol 11%

Famille Perrin, Studio Blanc by Miraval, Rhône/Var, France 2019

90

£12

Co-op

Ripe peach, pear and citrus, plus a hint of white blossom and reductive flint on the nose. Made from 100% Rolle in tulip-shaped concrete vats, which has an effect similar to batonnage. Oily and textured palate, with crisp apple and lime fruits. SW Alc 12.5%

Nero Oro, Appassimento Grillo, Sicily, Italy 2019 90

£9.99

Majestic

The addition of a portion of dried grapes to this Sicilian white adds richness not often associated with Grillo. Waxy scents of orange zest, peach, lemon, apple and honey are followed by pithy grapefruit, juicy tangerine, rich dried apricot and a subtle honey and nut finish. JB Alc 13.5%

Frantz Chagnoleau, Clos St-Pancras, Mâcon-Villages, Burgundy, France 2018

93

£18.95

Lea & Sandeman Chagnoleau and wife Caroline Gon farm their 3.5ha vineyard organically. This complex, elegant Chardonnay is aged 10 months in foudres, 10% new. Ripe tropical fruit on the creamy, nutty palate; fresh citrus acidity. TG Alc 13%

O Journey’s End,

The Weather Man Sauvignon Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa 2020 90

£6.50

Co-op

Typical varietal nose of passion fruit, fresh grass, gooseberry and asparagus; saline palate of lime and nectarine. Refreshing and mouthwatering, a lightweight vintage with moderate alcohol. Fairtrade. SW Alc 12.5%

Tim Adams, Riesling, Clare Valley, South Australia 2019

90

£11

Australian Wine Centre

A classic Clare Valley Riesling showcasing fresh lime juice, candied grapefruit peel and the faintest hint of the petrolly character that will come with age. Tangy and fresh, with a laser-like seam of acidity that carries through the long finish – and refreshingly low alcohol to boot. TG Alc 11.5%

Balfour, Hush Heath Estate, Co-op Irresistible Eight, Acres Sparkling Rosé, Kent, England 2018

90 £18 Co-op

A great choice for Valentine’s Day, made in collaboration with Co-op using 70% Chardonnay, plus a touch of Pinot Noir and Meunier. This delicate, light-pink fizz has a floral and fresh red-berry nose. It’s saline and cleansing on the palate, featuring sour cranberries, citrus and crunchy green apples, with plenty of acidity to refresh. SW Alc 11.5% ➢

Marks & Spencer, Classics No3, Gavi, Piedmont, Italy 2019

89

£8

Marks & Spencer

Claudio Manera and son Carlo are winemakers at the Araldica co-op, sourcing fruit from 230 growers. Made from Cortese, this has orchard-fruit, blossom and lime flavours, plus enough acidity to cut through pesto pasta. The Classics Pinot Grigio is also good value. TG Alc 12%

Kylie Minogue, Rosé, Vin de France 2019

89

£9

Tesco

Alongside a single-estate Côtes de Provence rosé, Kylie Minogue is behind this Vin de France, made with grapes from various southern regions. It’s fairly commercial in style, but has attractive white-blossom aromas and crisp red-berry fruit. A good choice for parties. AW Alc 12.5%

Château Bouscassé, Madiran, Southwest France 2015

91

£18

The Wine Society

A blend of 60% Tannat with Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc in support, this shows how approachable Madiran can be. Ripe and full-bodied, with dark, tarry, sweet black fruit. There’s oak influence from the year on lees in barrel, but it’s all in balance. Super-drinkable. AW Alc 13.5%

Bodegas Fabre, Viñalba Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza, Argentina 2019

90

£10

Tesco

Viñalba’s Reserve Malbecs are super, but Bordeaux-born Fabre has made a fine Cabernet here (with 15% Malbec): supple and easy-drinking with grippy tannins on a round body, fleshed out by warm, spiced black berry fruit. TG Alc 14.5%

Palacio de Bornos, La Caprichosa Verdejo, Rueda, Spain 2019 89

£13.95

The Vineyard Dorking

Four months of lees ageing adds a rounded creaminess to the texture of this crisp Verdejo, which features brisk acidity and fresh yellow-citrus notes, with a herbal edge and chalky minerals. There are fresh and appealing aromatics, too: gooseberries, lemon and lime, grass and hay. JS Alc 13%

Maturana Wines, Naranjo Torontel, Loncomilla, Maule Valley, Chile 2019 92

£15.25

Corney & Barrow

From 80-year-old vines; skin-fermented in concrete eggs. Highly aromatic: vibrant peach, apricot, lychee and orange peel. The palate has subtle stone fruit, citrus, spice and a crisp, juicy finish. Orange wine for people who don’t like orange wine. JS Alc 13.5%

Château L’Argenteyre, Médoc CB, Bordeaux, France 2014

91

£15.95

Lea & Sandeman

A delicious, mature mid-weight claret for a brilliant price. Savoury notes of saddle leather join firm, minerally black fruit and well-integrated spiced oak, with a cedar freshness running through the long, elegant palate. Drinking beautifully now, it would be perfect with a rib of beef. TG Alc 13%

House of Dreams, Grenache, Swartland, South Africa 2020 90

£9

Marks & Spencer

This fun label is made for M&S by Leon Esterhuizen of Journey’s End. It is unoaked, light-bodied and succulent, packed with red berries, pepper and herbs with mouthwatering acidity and a sweet hint of red liquorice. TG Alc 13.5%

Famille Lieubeau, Clisson, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Loire, France 2015 91

£16.68 Justerini & Brooks

For great value and relatively underexplored white wine, look to the cru communes in Muscadet – and chiefly the southerly cru of Clisson, home of this textured, highly interesting wine. A soft, floral nose with grapefruit and marzipan gives way to a fresh, bone-dry palate with piercingly mineral lemon notes and a rich, savoury nuttiness. Complex, aromatic, delicious. GH Alc 12%

Piero Mancini, Falcale, Cannonau di Sardegna, Italy 2018

89

£14.19

London Wine Deliveries Smoky, herbal, black- and red-fruit aromas with a distinctive savoury salami note. Softly rounded tannins, juicy black fruit, warm plum and spice on the palate. The perfect match for a charcuterie board. JS Alc 13.5%

Ridolfi, Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy 2018 O

89

£19.90

Independent Wine Matured in large Slavonian oak barrels. The grapes are sourced from the cooler northeast sector of Montalcino, for a fresh style with tobacco and cherry aromas, plus a touch of spice and smoke. Zingy cherry, raspberry and pomegranate flavours sit on a soft, rounded palate. JB Alc 14%

Monnaie d’Or, Chatus, Ardèche, France 2018

89

£18.50

The Wine Society

Chatus is an ancient grape native to southeast France. This is strong, exuding power with a base of plum, prune, fig, cinnamon, liquorice and black pepper. Juicier on the palate, with a soft, creamy, chalky texture. Good with cheese or chocolate. GH Alc 13.5%

Campbells, Rutherglen Muscat, Victoria, Australia NV

91 £12.99/37.5cl

Waitrose Rutherglen Muscat is a delicious fortified sweet wine, usually (as here) a blend of vintages and made by a solera system over five years or more. A real winter treat, with gorgeous grapey unctuousness, and a good streak of acidity to keep it fresh. Amber in colour, with aromas and flavours of fruit cake, raisins and toffee. AW Alc 17.5%

Pinot Vigilante, Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand 2019 89

£9.99

Aldi

Made for Aldi by Rockburn, this is an overt, fruit-forward style, packed with vanilla, cherryade, strawberry laces and even some cola notes. Balancing out that sweetness, however, is a fresh seam of acidity that prevents it from being cloying. A real crowd-pleaser, available online only. TG Alc 13.5%

Viña Elena, Pacheco Organic Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain 2019 89 O

£9.50

Noble Green

From dry-farmed bush vines. Unoaked, with appealing raspberry and cherry aromas and earthy undertones. Vibrant palate of brambly red and black fruit, plus plenty of spice and earthy, balsamic hints. Ripe, rounded tannins and a persistent finish. JS Alc 14.5%

The Iconic Estate, La Umbra Merlot, Dealurile Munteniei, Romania 2019 88

£6.99

Waitrose Cellar

Freshly picked raspberry on the nose, juicy and sweet on the palate with plenty of red strawberry and ripe plum fruits, supported by a hint of tannins. It’s a pleasant, quaffable Merlot with a lovely raspberry acidity to balance and candied red fruits to finish. SW Alc 13.5%

Graham’s, LBV, Douro, Portugal 2015

90

£13.99

Asda, Frazier’s, Morrisons, Ocado, Waitrose

Graham’s marks its bicentenary with a commemorative LBV release, bottled in 2020. Aromas of black fruit, liquorice and star anise lead to a luscious black-fruited palate with notes of pomegranate and hedgerow fruit. A seam of linear acidity adds freshness. JS Alc 20%

Pazzia, Primitivo di Manduria, Puglia, Italy 2018 90

£11.99 Waitrose Cellar

This southern Italian red will appeal to those who have enjoyed Waitrose’s Terre di Faiano Primitivo, also from Puglia. It’s inky dark in the glass, with bags of ripe, fleshy fruit flavours – black cherries and salted plums. Velvety, rich and fruitforward, it’s a real crowd-pleaser that would slip down easily with or without food. AW Alc 14% ➢