Chapel Down Flint Dry 2015, England (£10, Sainsbury's or via WineSearcher) We're big fans of Chapel Down's wines, especially their still ones - proving that English wine isn't just about fizz. Their Chardonnay (in particular their Kit's Coty) is regularly outstanding and well worth a try. This one's a...
Tim Adams Clare Valley Semillon 2014, Australia (from £9, Tesco or via WineSearcher) This wine is one of the best in Tesco's range - and one of the most reliable (of the very few) decent oaked whites under a tenner in the UK. With the zesty acidity you'd expect of good Ozzie...
Louis Latour White Burgundy Chardonnay 2014, France (from £10.29, Waitrose or via Wine Searcher) This elegant white Burgundy was my choice to go with a cod and parsley stuffed jacket potato by Nathan Outlaw on Saturday Kitchen. The dish was simplicity itself and went with a fair old range of...
Miguel Torres Days of Summer Muscat 2015, Chile (from £7.49, Majestic) No shortage of aromatic, grapey flavour with this Chilean Muscat, which just bursts out of the glass in joyous fashion. But neither is it a one-trick pony - quite the opposite. I chose this to partner a cheeseburger with a...
Pietradolce Archineri Etna Rosso 2014, Italy (from £27.55, Armit Wines, Oxford Wine Company or via Wine Searcher) I first came across the rugged, uncompromising wines of Sicilian producer Pietradolce at our wine festival and have followed them with interest since. I tried the full range at the recent Italian tasting...
The Society's Exhibition Chianti Classico 2013, 14%, Italy (£11.50, The Wine Society) We know all too well from our ongoing Saturday Kitchen wine hunts how tough it is finding great value wine at around the £10 mark. Our value antennae are constantly finely calibrated as a result. So it was...
Cérvoles Blanc 2005, Costers del Segre, Spain (£21.95 for the 2013 at Berry Bros or globally via Wine Searcher) Tasting this venerable white wine in plush London surroundings, it was odd to recall that Susie and I had visited the sun-strewn, dusty upland landscape of Costers del Segre shortly before this...
If wine has a grape-shaped equivalent of Lord Lucan, Amelia Earhart or George Mallory, it's Carmenere. This grape was a familiar and well renowned part of the landscape in Bordeaux for centuries until phylloxera struck in the 19th century. Growers weren't keen to replant it because it...
Colinas de Uruguay Albariño 2016, 13%, Uruguay (£8, Sainsbury's or in the Netherlands and Canada via Wine Searcher) We often find ourselves searching for whites that have plenty of oomph but aren't super extrovert in their flavour profile. This happens especially when we're picking wines to go with food: whites can need...
Arboleda Pinot Noir 2016, 13.5%, Chile (£18-20 for the 2015, Loki, Surrey Wine Cellar, Bonafide Wines or globally via Wine Searcher) Arboleda is the sister brand to the better known Errázuriz label, which are both based out of the Aconcagua Valley north of Chilean capital Santiago. And, just...