Weekend wines
7 top buys, £20-£50
Planning to splash out a little bit more to celebrate your weekend in style? As a companion selection to our 25 wines under £20, the Decanter team has selected seven standout bottles that are sure to impress, all available in the UK and priced between £20 and £50 Busi Jacobsohn, Single Estate Cuvée Brut, East Sussex, England 2018
£38 Busi Jacobsohn
A savoury nose of yeast opens up to lemon zest, pears and white blossom. In an explosion of bubbles, there are crisp lemon and green apple fruits on the palate with rich brioche and butter on the lingering finish. Light, smooth and precise. SW Alc 12%
Red Newt Cellars, Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York State, USA 2016
£29 The Wine Treasury
As the name (and useful back-label sweetness scale) details, this is dry, but ripe apricot flavours give it a honeyed note that offsets the mouthwatering acidity, wet-stone mineral tang and palate grip. Youthful, with orange blossom aromas, melon and candied lime. TG Alc 13%
Craggy Range, Syrah, Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2019
£28 Specialist Cellars Gorgeously lifted floral notes and raspberry juice purity on the nose. The palate is inky and youthful, packed with dense purple brambles, ripe raspberries and sweet red cherries. A stunner now but will go the distance. TG Alc 13.5%
Mandrarossa, Bertolino Soprano, Sicily, Italy 2018
£23.20 Tannico
Grown on limestone soils, this micro-terroir selection of Grillo is full of vitality. It’s all about exotic fruits, crème caramel, toffee apple and yellow plum, plus a smoky hint, fleshing out a tight mineral backbone and energised by saline acidity. JB Alc 13%
L’Ecole No 41, Semillon, Columbia Valley, Washington, USA 2018
£24.99 The Wine Treasury
A rich style, bursting from the glass with beeswax, melon and custard apple perfume. There's similar intensity and complexity on the palate, with green apple acidity cutting through the exotic fruit weight, creamy lees and lanolin notes. A big wine that should age well. TG Alc 14.5%
Bodegas La Horra, Corimbo, Ribera del Duero, Spain 2015
£21-£27 Available via UK agent Mentzendorff
Given the prices that Ribera del Duero can command, this is great value. Welldefined berry aromas and a silky black-fruit attack, with spicy oak from 14 months in barriques. A firm tannic framework around a core of juicy black fruit. JS Alc 14.5%
Château de La Dauphine, Fronsac, Bordeaux, France 2018 O
£20 Millésima
Lovely scented cherries on the nose, a rush of red and black fruits inviting you in. The texture is immediately gripping, holding the focus of the chalky cherry, blackcurrant and raspberry fruits laced with tobacco and clove. Carefully handled tannins linger on the tongue. A well-constructed wine from a biodynamically farmed estate, offering lovely drinking pleasure right now. Voluptuous yet refreshing, and a bargain to drink now or keep. GH Alc 15% D