On the grapevine

SAM WYLIE-HARRIS ON... CLASSIC WINES FROM OUR BEST-LOVED REGIONS

CLASSIC wines are much like classic cars or a designer dress – they’re timeless, we trust them enough to buy with confidence and tellingly, they typify a certain style.

“Classic wines are usually held in high regard for a reason,” observes Alexander Hill, brand manager for Armit Wines. “Of course, fashion and tastes are constantly changing but there are some appellations that always seem to resurface at the top. Chianti is a great example – the high-altitude hills combined with Mediterranean temperatures encourage a freshness and vibrancy in sangiovese.”

A glorious example of chianti is Querciabella Chianti Classico Organic 2016, Tuscany, Italy (£23.08, Armit Wines). Crafted in a sumptuous, vivacious style with perfumed aromatics complemented by excellent fruit, leafy, earthy, spicy tones and silky tannins, it really delivers on the promise of the aromas.

With a combined influence of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, Rioja’s continental climate also defines its style.

Bodegas Amaren Angeles de Amaren Rioja 2015,

Spain (£21, Virgin Wines) is a flagship wine which honours the winemaker’s mother. Powerful yet beautifully balanced, it delivers a plush, velvety smooth texture with focused flavours of black cherry, berries, vanilla, cloves and spice, ending with a long, concentrated finish and lingering vanilla notes.

Luckily, classic wine regions deliver many great value vinos that deserve our attention, especially the new M&S Classics wine range from Marks & Spencer, priced between £7 and £12.

Available online by the case, or in-store by the bottle, their Fred Sirieix’s Classics Mixed Case

(£48.50 x 6 bottles, Marks

& Spencer) includes the Classics Claret and for a budget Bordeaux, you can’t go wrong.

Likewise, the M&S Classics Rioja Reserva,

Spain (£54 x 6 bottles,

Marks & Spencer) is a really good, authentic Rioja with French American oak ageing rendering the region’s traditional style.

Bordeaux enthusiasts, meanwhile, should hunt down the 2016 vintage, which Cecile Ha, director of communications for the

CIVB, one of the most representative Bordeaux wine bodies, cites as particularly impressive.

Chateau Fleur Haut Gaussens 2016, Bordeaux Superieur, France (£13.45, Vinatis) comes highly recommended.