Paul Cluver Ferricrete Riesling 2015

Paul Cluver Ferricrete Riesling 2015, South Africa, 10.5%

(£9.75 down from £13, Marks & Spencer)

I was so impressed by this wine, and how well it went with Wolfgang Puck’s langoustines with charred aubergine and red Thai curry that I couldn’t resist blowing our Saturday Kitchen budget. (Mind you, if you apply the ‘25% off when you buy six’ discount at M&S, it does squeak in under a tenner.) It’s beautifully pure and fresh but also succulent and rounded. Seamless, really, and great value at the price despite not being the cheapest.

It was wonderful to see a very well informed and vibrant discussion in studio about the wine, too, picking up on the themes of value/price, the way it worked with the dish and the wine’s origin too. ‘It’s beautiful’ commented show host Michel Roux Jr. ‘It’s a little bit expensive for Saturday Kitchen but if you’ve gone to the trouble of making such a fantastic, expensive dish with langoustines and prawns, go and buy this wine. It’s exceptional value. Bang on, Peter: well done!’

Wolfgang said, ‘I love it, it’s well worth the money: great wine. Very well balanced with the acidity and sweetness; I wouldn’t have guessed this was from South Africa.’ Both Rosie Birkett and guest Rick Astley agreed. Mind you, don’t forget the other wine I flagged up – the Araucaria Riesling Pinot Grigio from Campanha in Brazil (£9, also M&S), a surprisingly decent alternative from a country that’s starting to make some seriously good wine.

(Peter, 7.5/10, June 2016)