We e ke n d 7
16 17 18 19 20
2020 Romania Pinot Noir
Cramele Recas, 12.5 per cent
Co-op, £5.Cramele Recas deserves
a medal for the slew of
tasty bargain buy pinot
noirs it sends here,
including this light,
lively, leafy 2020, a
clove and cranberry-
stashed, partly
French oak-chipped
red that is tailor
made for the
festivities. Your best
bet in this price
category to match
with turkey.2019 Azinhaga
de Ouro Reserva
Douro, Portugal,
14 per cent
Lidl, £5.Spot on, contemporary
Portuguese red from
the mighty Douro River
region, the largest
mountain vineyard in the
world, as revered now
for its table wine as its
port. Enjoy this gutsy
red, with masses of bold
bramble, vanilla and
mocha spice, with
hearty stews and roasts.2020 El Domador
del Fuego Rioja
Spain, 14 per cent
Sainsbury’s, £
(down from £
until Tuesday)Rioja is one of those big,
beefy winter reds that
drinkers just cannot
get enough of. If you
don’t want to splash
out on an aged reserva
or gran reserva, this
fat, richly fruited yet
vibrant, curranty young
rioja is the great value
bottle to buy.2020 Domaine Laborie
Pays d’Oc, France,
12.5 per cent
thewinesociety.com,
£6.Everyone imagines The
Wine Society sells nothing
but posh, pricey claret
and the like. Wrong.
Tuck into this delicious,
co-operative-sourced,
vibrant yet juicy
violet-scented
grenache, carignan
and merlot mix
and you’ll agree
wholeheartedly.2019 Extra Special
Pinot Noir
Valle de Leyda,
Chile, 14 per cent
Asda, £6 (down
from £6.50 until
December 12)Scant pickings at
Asda this winter
but this is a
cracking red.
Leyda is best
known for its zingy
whites but this lively,
gamey, strawberry-
fruited pinot noir
show that its reds
shine too.Bargain
pinot
noir2020 Rocca Alata
Valpolicella
Italy, 12 per cent
Tesco, £6 (down
from £7 until
December 6)Put a spring in your
step with this
refreshing winter
swig that cuts through
fatty winter fare with
ease. With bright
acidity and light, leafy,
sour red cherry fruit,
this vegan-friendly
valpolicella from
the Cantina di Soave,
founded in 1898,
gets my vote.2018 Finest
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Italy, 13.5 per cent
Tesco, £6 (down
from £7 until
December 6)Another zingy,
unoaked, stainless
steel-fermented
Italian red, all bold,
beautiful black
cherry fruit
and produced
exclusively from
the montepulciano
grape. Great with
goose and duck.2020 Duo du Midi,
Malbec-Cabernet Franc
Pays d’Oc, France,
13 per cent
thewinesociety.com,
£6.Duo du Midi, from the
same co-operative
stable as Domaine
Laborie, is a Wine
Society star turn. With
delicious red fruit and
a smoky, laurel leaf
finish, this is a canny
blend of chunky
malbec, enriched
with redcurranty
cabernet franc.2020 Burra Brook Shiraz
South Eastern Australia,
14.5 per cent
Marks & Spencer, £Bang-on-the-money
Aussie shiraz from
southeastern Australia’s
vast vineyards,
with layer after layer
of rich, punchy
eucalyptus, mint
and clove-spiced
fruit. A great
accompaniment
to hearty soups
and stews.Under £
»
11 12 13 14 152019 Morrisons
The Best Douro Red
Portugal,
13.5 per cent
Morrisons, £6.
(down from £8 from
December 13)Complex, savoury, beefy
but unoaked Douro red
made from all three
leading port grapes
— touriga nacional,
touriga franca
and tinta roriz.
Spicy and
aromatic, enjoy
this with roast
beef, or lamb.Good
with
beef2020 Irresistible
Carmenere
Maipo Valley,
Chile, 13.5 per cent
Co-op, £Most wine drinkers would
walk straight past the
Co-op’s carmenere,
due to its “guitar”
label. Please don’t,
because within is a
vegan-friendly, French
oak-chipped joy
overflowing with juicy
raspberry fruit and
closing on a pleasing,
curranty, dried-herb
note. Steak and
chips loves this.2019 Montes Reserva
Cabernet Sauvignon
Colchagua, Chile,
14.5 per cent
Co-op, £7 (down
from £9 until
December 14)My kind of cockle-
warming cabernet: a
turbo-charged, dreamy
cassis, tobacco and
blackcurrant pastille-
laden mouthful from
one of my favourite
Chilean producers. Part
French oak barrel-aged
and topped up with a
good dash of merlot.2020 Finest Côtes-
du-Rhône Villages
Signargues
France,
14.5 per cent
Tesco, £7 (down
from £8 until
December 15, £
from December 16)Snap up this seductive
grenache-syrah blend,
with a dab of
mourvèdre and
carignan. A dashing,
vegan-approved,
meaty, mocha and
bramble-packed
southern rhône.2020 Specially Selected
Freeman’s Bay Pinot Noir
New Zealand,
13 per cent
Aldi, £7.Trust Aldi to stock the
cheapest and best
Marlborough pinot noir
on the high street. It’s
a brilliant oak-chipped,
rose petal-scented,
smoky, gamey
mouthful with masses
of ripe, tangy
fruit and a hint
of Marmite on
the finish.
Great with
turkey.2020 Taste the Difference
Rheinhessen Pinot Noir
Germany,
13 per cent
Sainsbury’s, £8 (down
to £6.75 from
Wednesday until
December 14)If you cannot afford
burgundy, a rustic,
earthy, pale German
pinot noir is increasingly
one of the next best
things. Try this
lip-smacking, rich, leafy,
meaty 2020.Great
with
turkey
Continued overleaf6 7 8 9 10
— the critic’s top bottles
Next week
50 best
whites
Under £6.
»