The Times - UK (2022-05-28)

the times Saturday May 28 2022

4Weekend

2021 Vitis Nostra

Pinot Noir Rosé

Italy, 11.5 per cent

Morrisons, £6

Italian pinks bring

something different

to the party with their

savoury, bitter nip.

Vitis Nostra is

gentler and sweeter

than most, with

soft, plummy spice

and besides pinot

noir there’s a

15 per cent dollop

of other grapes

to keep the price

down.

2020 Taste the

Difference Beaujolais

Villages, Coteaux

Granitiques

France, 13 per cent

Sainsbury’s, £9,

down from £10

Bursting with zingy

red fruit, this

displays the zesty

mineral finish you’d

expect from a

superior cru

beaujolais. Serve

cool, as the French

do on sunny days.

2021 La Cerisa Rosa

Pinot Grigio

Italy, 12.5 per cent

Waitrose, £6.29, down

from £8.49

With a tad more

fruit than previous

vintages this pinot

grigio, blended

with a 15 per cent

dollop of pinot

noir, has oodles of

light, tangy morello

cherry fruit. It’s a

squeaky-clean

Italian pink with

lots of party

appeal.

2020 Specially

Selected Buenas Vides

Argentinian

Malbec

14 per cent

Aldi, £5.99

The bargain hunter’s

favourite beefy

malbec from the Uco

Valley, with spiced

baked Victoria plum

fruit. Equally good

with barbecues and

summer salads.

2021 La Vieille

Ferme Rosé

France, 12.5 per cent

Waitrose, £6.50,

down from £7.50

At this rock-bottom

price, it’s impossible

to beat this party

pink. With a

mouthwatering,

fruity, yet

surprisingly classy,

dry, red berry-

stashed pizzazz —

everyone will lap

up this Perrin

family gem.

2021 Les Davaines

Gamay, Coteaux

-du-Lyonnais

France, 12 per cent

Majestic, 6 for

£7.99 each, or

£8.99 a bottle

Gamay is the

beaujolais grape

and this vibrant

red, made by the

same carbonic

maceration

method, bursts

with juicy plum

and beetroot fruit.

2021 Finest

Monteforte Pinot

Grigio

Italy, 12.5 per cent

Tesco, £8

Every jubilee party

needs an easy-

swigging pinot

grigio to set the

table on a roar and

this lively, leafy,

floral yet

restrained

charmer with a

nifty lemon twist

finish gets

my vote. Vegan

approved.

2021 The Best

Touraine Rosé

France, 12.5 per cent

Morrisons, £7.75

A drier Loire rosé, with

the lemony zip and

zing you’d expect from

a cooler, northern

French region and

made from gamay,

cabernet franc and

pineau d’aunis.

Bursting with

crisp, fragrant,

redcurrant fruit,

with a fine,

gamey finish.

2019 Extra Special

Plan de Dieu, Côtes

du Rhône Villages

France, 14 per cent

Asda, £7, down

from £8

Slim pickings at Asda

again this season.

Never mind. Of all

the supermarket

red rhônes, this

bright, dusky,

crowd-pleasing,

brambly 2019, a

good vintage,

makes an

excellent, earthy

summer red.

2021 Wairau Cove

Marlborough

Sauvignon Blanc

New Zealand,

12.5 per cent

Tesco, £7.50

There’s Kiwi

sauvignon and Kiwi

sauvignon; this is

the latter — a

sweetly fruited,

straw-gold, grassy,

verdant hit. A

bonus is that

there is less

residual sugar

here than

in most.

2021 Baron Amarillo

Rioja Rosado

Spain, 13 per cent

Aldi, £6.79

If a jubilee barbecue

with spicy

seasonings and

sauces is on the

cards, this fuller-

bodied pink is

what’s wanted.

Fifty-fifty

garnacha and

tempranillo, it’s

a smoky,

herbaceous,

tobacco-leaf joy.

2021 Skouras Cuvée

Prestige Rosé,

Peloponnese

Greece, 13 per cent

Majestic 6 for £8.99

each, or £11.99 a

bottle

A delicious
Peloponnese
peninsula wine.
Co-fermenting red
agiorgitiko with white
moschofilero has
produced this
delightful, intense,
spicy, spritzy, hibiscus-
styled pink.

2018 Taste the

Difference

Barrihuelo Rioja

Crianza

Spain, 13.5 per cent

Sainsbury’s, £7.75

Woodheads won’t

dream of celebrating

summer without a

red rioja or two and

this tasty, vanilla and

sandalwood-spiced

tempranillo, aged for

just a year in French

and American oak

barrels, hits the

spot. A restrained

summer sip.

2020 Taste the

Difference Coteaux

du Giennois

France, 13 per cent

Sainsbury’s, £10,

down from £11

Forget pricey, big-
name sancerre and
pouilly-fumé.
Instead, head to the
similarly chalky but
little-known
vineyards
of Coteaux du
Giennois, where
this musky, flinty,
bosky, sauvignon
blanc awaits you.

2021 Irresistible

Casablanca Valley

Pinot Noir

Chile, 14 per cent

Co-op, £7, down

from £8

Can’t afford red
burgundy? Try
a fantastic oak-
influenced Chilean
pinot noir instead.
Step forward
this delicious,
tarry, red plum,
clove and
raspberry-fruited,
burnt barbecue-
friendly gem.

Raise a glass (or two)! The best

2021 Cono Sur

Bicicleta Viognier

Chile, 13.5

per cent

Tesco, £6

An exotic, blossomy,

honeysuckle and

spicy, yellow

peach of a white

which is perfect

for jubilee

celebrations. On

permanent low

price at Tesco,

£7.50-plus

elsewhere.

2021 Thornicher

St Michael Mosel

Riesling

Germany,

10.5 per cent

Lidl, £4.99

My favourite, sub-£5

bottle at Lidl and a

brilliant, sparky

street-party swig

for those who

might not enjoy a

bone-dry white.

Best served well

chilled to enhance

its spritzy, green

apple crunch.

2021 MontGras

De Vine Reserva

Chardonnay

Chile, 14 per cent

Waitrose, £6.99,

down from £9.49

Classy Chilean

chardonnay with

masses of rich,

creamy, nutty,

herbaceous fruit

that at this price

is a steal. Get

your party

chardonnay in

before everyone

else does.

2021 Bouchard Aîné

& Fils Chardonnay

France, 12 per cent,

Sainsbury’s, £7,

down from £8

The canny burgundy

house Bouchard

has bought in

Mâconnais-aping

grapes to create

this terrific, appley,

citrus zest of a

chardonnay. It’s as

close to a £7 white

burgundy as you

are going to get

this summer.

2021 Isoletta Lucido

Pinot Grigio

S i c i l y, I t a l y,

12.5 per cent

Morrisons, £4.60

Delightfully cheap

pinot grigio and

lucido grape blend

from the sunny

south and the

awesome Cantine

Settesoli co-op. With

lashings of ripe,

sweet citrus fruit, it’s

a sub-£5 must-buy.

Times’ wine

critic Jane

MacQuitty on

what to drink

2020 Château Bel-Air

Bergerac Rouge

France, 15 per cent

Majestic, 6 for £7.99

each, or £8.99

a bottle

Traditionalists needn’t

fret. If an austere

claret isn’t summer-

suitable, snap up this

ripe, fruity, curranty,

cassis-charged

Dordogne red

instead; it’s made

from the Bordeaux

trio of cabernets

sauvignon, franc

and merlot.

2018 Robert Oatley

Semaphore Cabernet

Sauvignon

Western Australia,

14 per cent

Co-op, £8

Knock it out of the

park with this

keenly priced

Western Australia

red. It’s crammed

with robust, hearty,

blackcurrant and

black cherry fruit

and tailor-made

for barbecued

red meats.

WHITE W

ROSÉ W

RED W

2020 Castillo de Zalin

Monastrell

Spain, 14 per cent

Co-op, £7.50

Hosting a jubilee

barbecue party? Snap

up this unoaked,

organic, burly yet

brilliant, sunny

Spanish red that

overflows with

seductive, juicy

loganberry and

Victoria plum fruit.