Wine purchases can be like many things in life.
Most of the time we stick with – and enjoy – something that is reliable, modestly priced and “tried and tested”.
Once in a while, though, it is nice to splash out on a treat if you can do so.
To reduce the risk of that ending in disappointment, I occasionally offer “Sunday Best” suggestions for “aspirational” wines that justify spending a little more.
Today is one such day – the first of 2024.
Before we start, let’s be clear – higher prices are seldom “rip offs”.
Getting to the required quality levels usually needs the best of land, fruit, winemaking skills and equipment.
As we all know, “Best of” and “cheap” never really sit in the same sentence.
In addition these price points and quality levels often take us to the legion of independent wine merchants that serve the UK so well.
“Indies” are a great source of advice and reliable wines and, like good sommeliers, they want you have enjoyable wine that suits your budget.
Think of “Sunday Best” options as buying a bottle that is a bit special for what you might pay in a pub or restaurant for an ordinary one.
As a politician might say “Eat in – to Cash In”.
In the usual way, hyperlinks and pictures are used where possible to help you locate the bottle in question.
Starting with some whites
2023 Domaine Guillaman Chardonnay (£14 at The Wine Cellar and 12.5% abv):
We have become accustomed to local grapes from Southwest France (possibly with sauvignon blanc) dazzling us, but here is a well-made chardonnay.
Will we see other international varieties joining the region’s repertoire? After all, I believe this producer also has a merlot cabernet blend.
Rounded with vaguely sweet aromas, the chardonnay, however, has full, red apple, pear and white peach flavours partnered by firm lemon acidity, a granite twist at the end and subtle traces of toffee.
Link … https://thewinecellar.wine/products/domaine-guillaman-chardonnay
Moving next to the Loire.
2022 Joseph Mellot Menetou-Salon: (from £17.50 at Noble Green Wines and 13%):
As Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé prices rise, so value seekers head for the less well-known nearby areas that also produce quality sauvignon blanc.
Quincy is one and Menetou Salon is another – but the latter has the advantage of being right next door to Sancerre.
Subdued and sophisticated on the palate, this example from there has tingling melon, gooseberry and apple flavours.
In support, come bell pepper crunch, mineral hints and lively grapefruit acidity.
Coming back across the Channel
2022 Hattingley Still Chardonnay (£26 from the Vineyard and 12.5%):
Let’s finish the “white” section with some acclaimed English Wine- this time from Hattingley Valley at Alresford in Hampshire.
Their sparkling wine has regularly won awards but this is straight chardonnay and – although not cheap – is a lovely example of the brilliance Southern England can achieve with the grape.
Delicate and opening with orchard fruit aromas, this brings us lingering melon and apple peel flavours accompanied by an edge of sweetness, pronounced citrus acidity and a concluding twist of ginger.
Link …https://hattingleyvalley.com/products/hattingley-valley-still-chardonnay-2022
To Rioja for the first red
2017 Finest Vina del Cura Rioja Gran Reserva (£13 at Tesco and 14%):
Despite being the top of the Rioja classification, gran reserva offerings can vary appreciably but this one is “spot on” to me.
No surprise that it is made by Baron de Ley and the moment you open the bottle that unmistakeable (but hard to describe precisely) Rioja aroma comes out to greet you.
Inky and rich, the wine’s cornerstone is intense mulberry, black cherry and tomato flavours.
These are combined with chocolate, rosemary and aniseed influences to provide a generous mouthfeel with only modest tannin.
Link … https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/256150055
And then to Australia.
2022 Bleasdale Vineyards Langhorne Creek Cabernet Franc (from £13.99 at Laithwaite and 12.5%):
Several contributors to this site’s Comments section have praised cabernet franc from France’s Loire Valley where the climate helps it to produce light and crunchy red wine.
This, however, is from a part of South Australia where summer temperatures are 5°C warmer but where skilled winemaking has produced something very much like those Loire masterpieces.
Floral but deceptively light in texture, it contains ripe, raspberry and red plum flavours supported by lively tart acidity and a mildly herbal undercurrent – but little tannin.
Link … https://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product/4388322?productId=eprod4070136
Keeping things light.
2023 Malbado Malbec (£15 at Asda and 14%):
Altitudes of up to 3500 feet and substantial variations between day and night temperatures help to make Argentina’s Lujan de Cuyo an especially successful area for malbec.
Here that extra height has helped to make an example that is less sturdy than some but with no reduction in ripeness.
Dark in colour but – by contrast – quite light in body, it offers us sweet edged loganberry, red currant and plum flavours embellished by good acidity, soft tannin and a touch of fudge.
Link … https://groceries.asda.com/product/malbec/malbado-malbec/1000375030223
Meanwhile Back in France ….
2023 Le Voisin D’en Face (from £14.25 at Vino Gusto and 13.5%):
While Ardeche (being to the west of the river) is not the most celebrated Rhȏne wine area, that can be an advantage.
Here, for instance, dedicated winemakers have created a syrah that is great value for money precisely because it is not from a prestigious area. Try it and see!
Pale with spicy aromas, it exhibits juicy cherry and raspberry flavours that lead into a blackberry follow-up.
Those characteristics are all supplemented by firm acidity, limited tannin and suggestions of mint and vanilla.
Link … https://vinogusto.co.uk/products/dauvergne-ranvier-le-voisin-d-en-face-ardeche-syrah-2022
Sticking with that grape variety.
2020 St Hallett Faith Shiraz (£16 at Tesco and 14.5%):
In the Barossa Valley shiraz (as Australians call syrah) tends to be smooth with savoury length but, most of all, richer and more robust than versions from almost anywhere else on earth.
Here is a good example – from a first-rate producer – of that power and heartiness in action.
Smooth and concentrated, it features dense mulberry, plum and bramble flavours.
These are complemented in this instance by lively orange zest acidity, mild tannin and chocolate, prune and cinnamon elements.
Link … https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/308851356
Majestic Expanding its Kingdom
Drinks Business publication reveals that Majestic plans to increase its number of stores by over 50%, to 333 and is expecting to open a new store roughly once a month.
Already it seems that 90% of the UK population live within 10 miles of a store – although the expansion does focus on areas of large population.
Try this link for a full list of possible sites which range from Guernsey to Morpeth… https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2024/07/majestic-spies-125-locations-to-open-one-new-store-per-month/
Tune in again on Monday when normality is restored with great value wines at budget price points in my weekly Top Tips post.
16 responses
Hi Brian
That Tesco ‘Vina Del Cura’ for me is probably the best of the supermarket Rioja’s out there, I remember a many years ago now when I first came across the wine (when it was called ‘Vina Mara’) I bought quite a few of the Reserva and Gran Reserva. I’ve still got a bottle of a 2001 Reserva and a 2004 Gran Reserva in my rack, which should still be very good, my preference is for the Reserva but the Gran is still excellent, with Baron de Ley behind it all you can’t go wrong.
Hello David,
Have you noticed in the Comments section where it says” Dave Cronin says” that your name appears in red and everyone else’s name is in black?
Perhaps a mystery to be solved by Brian?
Hi Paul
On my screen, My name doesn’t appear at all, just – says:
Hi Paul
The red Name is a Hyperlink to my Blog/Website, if you click on it
The colours are still a mystery to me I am afraid. The designer has tried several work arounds but none seem infallible. The heading is in black on phones but red on desktops. In the end, I decided getting it consistent was not a deal breaker but reckoned without your sharp eyesight. Perhaps we should add “Hawkeye” to your nickname as well as “Scoop”.
Chateau Oumsiyat Blanc de Blanc 2023 Bekaa Valley Lebanon All about Wine £9.79
After visiting the stunning Van Gogh immersive exhibition in Liverpool yesterday and enjoyably lunching in Maray, I tasted the above ( house) white wine,which turned out to be a bit special.
It matches Vincent in it’s terrific balance and long finish.
A blend of Ugni Blanc 60%,Clairette 20%,Sauvignon Blanc 12%and Chardonnay 8%.Grown at 1000m in altitude where the summer diurnal temps difference is 20C
The wine reflects Vincent in his happier life affirming period-perhaps close to the “Yellow Chair”?
Thanks, Paul – it is good to be reminded that there is so much more to Lebanese wine than Ch Musar.
There’s a very good point you make here Brian about how we might convince ourselves that the more expensive … or quite a bit more money than is usual … special/weekend bottle might be justifiable.
Just equate it to what we are expected to pay in a hospitality/eatery situation, for often hyper marked-up and not particularly decent stuff anyway, bottles or carafes offered on wine lists to accompany a meal in this country, or coming across a pub bar!!
I call this having ”more front than Clacton-on-Sea”, a situation with upfront bling but in truth unconvincing behind it all!!
When national restaurant chains especially want £17.95 for their house bottle red equivalent, for say Lidl’s Montepulciano D’Abruzzo that sells at £4.79, it’s a bit much to swallow. In truth that Lidl bottle may often be better anyway.
The hospitality industry is something I try to avoid, personal choice of course, I need to spend my money wisely and not chuck it at a potential rip-off experience. As if, as a politician once said, eat-out-to-help-out was ever the answer. I like your Eat in-to Cash- in way better.
Find a good wine merchant or indeed a blog like this and buy on recommendation and every now and then up the ante on our wine selection.
I agree to some extent Eddie but one of my passions in addition to wine (live football and live music) is enjoying a lovely meal cooked by a decent chef. For me, in a recommended and renowned restaurant it would seriously devalue the experience to accompany carefully prepared food solely with water. Therefore, while a seemingly flashy wine list with loads of expensive overpriced bottles is not a good sign the good restaurants that I am happy to revisit are the ones that have a few carefully selected bottles below £30. Alright, the restauranteur may be making a 100% mark up on my wine choice but is this any different to the mark up on the cost of the raw ingredients for the food and the labour costs to prepare it? The consumer has the choice and I am happy to pay for the full experience.
Having said which though I have a booking for a lovely local seafood restaurant in a few weeks time where the corkage is just £5. Win-win situation
Hello Keith,
A friend of mine who was a successful restaurateur, when dining out in other restaurants, usually left a tip of 10% if the food and service was good.But he always deducted the cost of the wine from the potential tip calculation.
His argument was that he knew how much profit they were making on the wine and why should he tip a wine bottle?
Likesay … a personal opinion to which I attach not a lot of objectivity other than to say if people enjoy being ripped-off for POOR QUALITY WINE … supplied in any establishment good or bad … and there are plenty of each I’m sure …. then on y va ….
Like Brian says … eat-in-to-cash-in with regard to this particular thread about wine at a certain price that is hopefully still affordable even to the impecunious to drink at home.
As for live music gigs and football matches after 76 years I have indulged enough already. However, next week when I am back from my trip south we will go to Eskdale Fisheries in Sleights in North Yorkshire 3 miles from Whitby and have their expertly cooked medium haddock special and chips, bread and butter, and a pot of Yorkshire tea for two … not a drop of ANY alcohol in sight. Oh … and less than £14 a head that those who know their eat-in-in-Whitby prices at any of the premier locations there … Magpie .. Trenchers … Harbour … know 14 quid is a steal …. . And might I say prepared by a master fish fryer in a pinny, who thankfully is more than ”decent”.
PS Waitrose ”local to me” this morning and the Nevieres Cabernet Franc and the Sorcova Romanian Pinot Noir they had this time that I missed when shopping there last December.
I’ll go with that last sentence – it could be the tag line for the Sunday Best features. Beware, incidentally, of what you say about Clacton – they have a new, high profile, MP!
Hi Eddie, As you say it was a personal opinion (and only intended as such), and really just to offer a counter argument. In fact given the focus of MWW, on reflection it was perhaps somewhat irrelevant.
Nevertheless, should be thinking there goes another blomin’ southerner I can assure you I’m merely a Yorkshireman in long term exile in the south! Sadly, mushy peas are still something of a rarity with fish & chips in the south and I’m totally with you on not a drop of alcohol with battered fish & chips.
PS Now waiting for someone to put forward ideal wine pairings for f&ch!!
Interesting thing here Keith because if you want to locate an ”argument” as such about fish and chips … mushy peas …. curry sauce …pickled eggs and gerkins, cod or haddock and all else, on Facebook there is a site called Fish and Chips Appreciation Society that would, should you ever found you had enough time to waste in your life, engage you on the subject matter for the rest of your days … or perhaps that should be …daze!
Apart from the argument about what WE might drink in the way of wine with f&c’s THAT subject is never discussed on the threads there . My deduction true or not, again purely personal, that when something of such magnitude like this important British food never gets accompanying comments about ….. a wine to drink with it, the great British public have IN THE MAIN no interest or idea in what wine might work and maybe don’t drink any wine at all with anything??
But they certainly don’t seem to drink wine with f&c’s so maybe they have it sorted correctly. Maybe more savvy and discerning about ”wine” than I believe, except … some of the pics they throw up and announce ”best ever I have eaten” as the fish and batter is completely obliterated with Chinese chip shop curry sauce, I wonder if they know anything we might find useful in the way of a recommendation for any actual fried fish and chip meal, never mind a bottle of wine to go with it!!!!
As far as I’m aware the nature of typical batter and its components in this context and mainly the way it takes up a lot of beef dripping or these oils they use nowadays, is at odds with a perfect match to most any wine, and that includes fizz. Can only offer a comparison of pub landlords years ago not wanting customers bringing in a parcel of f&c’s because the strong malt vinegar used in dressing, and then in the pub atmosphere, would ”turn” the beer and make pints of real ale especially lose their head. Is it true? I don’t know! It is said we have to be careful about the vinegar component of a salad dressing and drinking wine with same.
What I do know is I don’t derive pleasure from drinking wine with this particular meal in the same way I would never have wine or any alcohol with an ”all day breakfast”, again a lot of fried stuff. Except the ubiquitous chip works perfectly with a steak. So maybe it is almost always just down to preference.
Best as ever ..
When going to restaurants these days I often go for non alcohol beer or perhaps cider. The Adnams Ghost Ship low alcohol beer is fine, and a decent enough match for fish & chips. I drink wine most days, so feel good about giving my liver a rest. If there is something of interest on the list, rather than the standard stuff, I might relent.
I also haven’t quite come to terms with the meal cost at higher end restaurants. I do like to support them, but there is a limit. But, again, relent if they do a better value, fewer choice menu.
As a compromise we quite frequently splurge on the prepared meals from “Dishpatch”. Here you can eat good meals devised by very good, named, chefs, and delivered to your door. It gives my wife a break from cooking (the sequencing of the preparation & “cooking” is sufficiently straight forward that I can do it!), the wine list is really excellent and there is no driving home!
But most importantly my wife really enjoys having meals devised by the chefs she “knows well” from watching Great British Menu over the years. Waitrose has very recently bought Dishpatch so intrigued to know how it will further develop.
We recently had fish n chips in a pub and we washed it down with a lovely bottle of Picpoul de Pinet, but sometimes it’s fizz usually Cava, but at home we have a cup of tea with it and to be perfectly honest it’s probably the best pairing of all.