Wines of the week

Three corkers from Majestic’s own-label range.

Le Grand Retour Malbec France 2020

With the likes of Unwins, Thresher and Oddbins severely diminished or departed to the great off-licence in the sky, Majestic is the last of the Mohicans when it comes to bricks-and-mortar wine retail chains. And the business has enjoyed a period of calm since being acquired by US firm Fortress in 2019. Sales and store numbers are healthy, and it has been joined in the Fortress stable by upmarket wine bar/ retailer hybrid chain Vagabond, and no-frills retailer Poundstretcher. It was the latter’s pile-it-high discount vibe that came to mind when I recently tasted some sweeter, more commercial offerings in the Majestic range. But there are also wines that would not be out of place in one of Vagabond’s urban outlets, such as the cassis-scented red, Le Grand Retour Malbec. £12.99, or £9.99 in a mixed case of six, Majestic

Le Grand Retour is a reference to the malbec grape’s return to prominence in its original, southwestern French homeland. But it was a fluent and fragrant example of malbec from the country where the variety has found global 21st-century fame that was one of the highlights of Majestic’s newly revamped ‘Definition by Majestic’ own-label range. Definition by Majestic Uco Valley Malbec 2022 (£13.99, or £11.99 in a mixed six) is made by the excellent family-run firm, Zuccardi, and comes close to fulfilling the retailer’s avowed intention with the Definition wines of ‘capturing the quintessential qualities of the world’s greatest wine styles’. Another red in the range which enjoyably matches the brief is the succulent Barossa Shiraz made by Dean Hewitson.

Australia 2021

£14.99, or £12.99 in a mixed case of six, Majestic

Definition by Majestic Limoux Chardonnay France 2022

For whites, the Definition highlights took me back to France, with the everreliable Jean-claude Mas taking full advantage of the relative cool of the hills around Limoux in the Languedoc to produce his Chardonnay, with its balance of ripe peachy fruit, subtly toasty oak and brightness. Also in France, the southern Burgundy co-operative Cave de Lugny has come up with a ripely stone-fruited Definition by Majestic Mâcon-villages (£13.99 or £11.99), while the Definition by Majestic Côtes de Provence Rosé Organic 2023 (£14.99, or £11.99) is a good-value example of the hazy strawberry and melon-fruited charms of Provençal pink from a producer that also makes one of my favourite white wines in the Majestic range: the Peyrassol Les Templiers Côtes de Provence Blanc 2023 (£15.99 or £13.99). £13.99, or £11.99 in a mixed case of six, Majestic

Definition by Majestic Barossa Shiraz