Our wine expert Joanna Simon offers her picks of the best High Street wines; whether you're looking for the perfect accompaniment to your dinner party dish or simply for a more casual tipple for a relaxed evening.
For more ideas, see
Follow Joanna Simon on Twitter:
Follow Joanna Simon on Instagram:
-
Tanners Super Claret 2012Tanners Super Claret 2012, Haut-Médoc, France
The name may sound a tad old school, but the wine, I'm happy to say, is not. It's claret for sure, aka red Bordeaux, but it's not the old-fashioned, weedy, thin sort that use to fuel gentleman's clubs at lunchtime (and may still do, for all I know). It's a supple, rounded blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon aged in barrels for a year to give a spicy oak softness to the mulberry and blueberry fruit, graphite and green pepper flavours. It's ready for drinking - Sunday lunch would be a good start - but you could put it away for a couple of years if you have a cellar or equivalent. It's made for Tanners by the team at Château Clément-Pichon in the Haut-Médoc.
£14.95, Tanners,
-
Elephant Hill Syrah 2015
Elephant Hill Syrah 2015, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
This was the first Elephant Hill wine I'd come across when I tasted it a few months ago and I was bowled over. I tasted it again earlier this month with Steve Skinner, the winemaker, and was again bowled over by its combination of velvety richness, freshness and elegance and by the crunchy black fruit, peppery spice and sheen of polished oak. All the more impressive is the fact that this is the cheapest of Elephant Hill's three Syrahs. There's also a Reserve and a top Syrah called Airavata, both of which I highly recommend. I recommend the winery's other wines too, all of which I tasted alongside classic wines from some of France's foremost estates. The wines are all made from Elephant Hill's own three vineyards in Hawkes Bay on the North Island (specifically in Te Awanga, Gimblett Gravels and the Bridge Pa Triangle), which Skinner says gives him complete control, and all are made by Skinner without any assistants. As I say, impressive. Drink this Syrah with game birds, duck or red meat or with baked or casseroled vegetable dishes.
£19, ; £19.49, ; £19.95, ; £21.30,
-
Co-op Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2014
Co-op Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2014, Rhône, France
If you're looking for a heartwarming, generous red to see you through the cold weather, this Châteauneuf-du-Pape is just the wine, whether you're eating a roast, a casserole, a vegetarian cassoulet or a pizza. You can even pop it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes and serve it slightly cool - the rich, dark fruit, nutty, sweet earth and smoked paprika spice notes are just as appetizing when a little cooler than usual. The people behind it are the Perrin family of the acclaimed Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate Château de Beaucastel, which goes a long way to explaining the quality. The Co-op still doesn't sell wines on line, but this wine is in almost all 2,800 stores.
£15.99,
-
Henry Fessy Beaujolais-Villages 2015
Henry Fessy Beaujolais-Villages 2015, France
The 2015 vintage was brilliant for Beaujolais, from straight
