Hand-picked value, from £7.95 to £120 a bottle. A considerably shorter list is also published by the Financial Times. Above, a red wine fermentation at Château La Liquière in Faugères, whose 2022 is well worth £13.99 at Majestic.
Now is the time to buy a magnum if one is offered rather than a brace of bottles. They look so handsome and special and are popularly supposed to mature wine at an ideal pace.
Waitrose continue their December offer of a few wines reduced to £10, but only while stocks last. Those mentioned below I would have been happy to recommend at their usual price of £15.99, incidentally.
Château La Grave de Bertin, Gentleman Vigneron Merlot 2023 Bordeaux 13.5%
No oak, but fruit and tannin have been extracted to the max. A bargain for classicists, who are unlikely to approve of the label.
£7.95 The Wine Society
Bolgrad, Select Collection Saperavi 2023 Ukraine 14%
You don’t often find a wine worth ageing for less than £8 but hurry as Lidl’s bargains don’t last long.
£7.99 Lidl
Ferdinand Mayr, Exclusiv Blaufränkisch 2022 Burgenland 13.5%
Underpriced example of the red wine grape of which Austrians are so proud. I recently had a 1973 from Kollwentz that was still in great shape. But drink this bittersweet bargain over the next two years.
£8.95 The Wine Society
Huteau-Boulanger, La Muse Gamay 2023 Val de Loire 12.5%
More fun than many a Beaujolais, from the same grape variety.
£9.25 The Wine Society
Vergelegen, Fairtrade Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2020 Stellenbosch 14%
A deal if ever there was one.
£10 Co-op
Croix des Coteaux 2020 St-Émilion 13.5%
Unoaked, fragrant evidence of the pickle Bordeaux finds itself in because of underpriced wines. 50:50 Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
£10 this month, reduced from £15.99 Waitrose
Doña Paula, El Alto Single Vineyard Malbec 2022 Luján de Cuyo 14%
Even at the full price I thought this excellent value for a wine aged for 10 months in French oak, 20% of it new.
£10 this month, reduced from £15.99 Waitrose
Montecillo, Reserva 2017 Rioja 13.5%
Again, I would have recommended this at £15.99. Old-vine fruit subtly matured in barrel for two years. There must be a glut in Rioja.
£10 this month, reduced from £15.99 Waitrose
Domaine des Escaravailles, Les Sabilières 2021 Côtes du Rhône 14%
70% Grenache, 30% Syrah make a really serious red for drinking now or over Christmases to come.
£10.95 The Wine Society
San Alejandro, Querencia Garnacha 2023 Calatayud 14.3%
Old Grenache vines in the Spanish countryside provide some of the wine world’s best value currently. Round, light, charming, unoaked.
£11 Tesco
Care, Nativa Garnacha 2022 Cariñena 14.5%
Oaked, beefier version of the wine above. Equally good value.
£11 Tesco
Fasoli Gino, Abbondanza 2022 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 13.5%
Very unusual offering in a screwcapped bottle with fruit and Italian bite.
£14.99 a litre Adnams (the equivalent of £11.24 a bottle)
Salvaje del Moncayo, La Garnacha 2021 Vino de la Tierra Ribera del Guíeles 14%
Hand-harvested old vines at 800 m on rocky slate then five months in French oak barrels. Both sweet fruit and structure.
£11.49 Majestic
Guigal 2020 Côtes-du-Rhône 14.5%
A perennial favourite Syrah/Grenache/Mourvèdre blend from a titan of the northern Rhône. Utterly reliable and with some maturity already.
£11.50 Ocado, £13.49 Waitrose Cellar and many an independent
Ponte da Boga, P Mencía 2023 Ribeira Sacra 12%
Precipitous vineyards in Galicia yield this florally fruity delight.
£11.95 The Wine Society, due back in stock on 20 December
Boas Quintas, Agenda Manager’s Choice 2021 Dão 13%
Proper, quite complex wine from a blend of northern Portuguese grapes.
£11.99 Majestic
Domaine la Portelle 2018 Fleurie 13%
Gentle, unusually mature Beaujolais from what is obviously an excellent home.
£12.75 The Wine Society
Classica, El Pacto 2020 Rioja 14%
Organic charmer that could already be enjoyed.
£12.95 The Wine Society
Casa Relvas, Ciconia Touriga Nacional 2023 Vinho Regional Alentejano 14%
A textbook, if youthfully fruity, example of Portugal’s most famous red wine grape.
£12.99 Tivoli Wines
Boucabeille, Les Terrasses 2023 Côtes du Roussillon 13.5%
No hurry to drink this chewy, sun-ripened Catalan red.
£13.95 Vin Cognito
Château Jamard Belcour 2019 Lussac-St-Émilion 13.5%
The Society works hard at picking out the bargains in Bordeaux. Merlot ready to enjoy.
£13.95 The Wine Society
Château La Liquière, Terre du Sud 2022 Faugères 13%
From what is arguably the Languedoc’s most reliable appellation, where schist adds energy and tension to this spicy blend.
£13.99 Majestic
Lyrarakis Liatiko 2023 PGI Crete 13.5%
There is such value to be had from Crete currently. Liatiko is a native grape variety offering light earthiness, rather like the Xinomavro of northern Greece.
£13.99 Majestic
Lorgeril, Le St-Martin 2022 Côtes du Roussillon-Villages 14%
Pure, sweet, convincing blend that’s lighter than most wines from this Catalan corner of southern France.
£13.99 Majestic
Domaine Maby, Variations 2021 Côtes du Rhône 14%
Great-value blend that could be enjoyed well into the future.
£14.95 Yapp Brothers
Reyneke, Organic Syrah 2020 Stellenbosch 13%
(Just) cheaper than their 2022 at Majestic.
£14.95 The Wine Society
The Liberator, God’s Own Country II 2020 Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 14.5%
Rhône blend from one of South Africa’s cooler wine regions.
£14.95 The Wine Society
Viña Pomal, Selección 106 Reserva 2019 Rioja 14.5%
For fans of mature, traditional, vanilla-oaky Rioja. Good price.
£14.99 Majestic
Mayu, Gran Reserva Pinot Noir 2022 Elqui 14%
Convincing light Pinot flavours in the beetroot/vegy spectrum from a single vineyard in one of Chile’s coolest wine regions.
£14.99 Majestic
Château Veyran 2021 St-Chinian 14%
Transparent, meaty Grenache dominates the blend of this fresh, characterful Languedoc red.
£14.99 Majestic
Cap Maritime Pinot Noir 2023 Cape South Coast 12%
From Marc Kent of Chocolate Box fame, a cooler, fresher South African red in Burgundian style.
£15 Tesco
Joostenberg, Family Blend 2021 Paarl 13.5%
Certified organic. Exceptionally well-mannered Syrah-based blend.
£15.25 Corney & Barrow
Concha y Toro, Marqués de Casa Concha Syrah 2020 Maipo 14.5%
From Chile’s Cabernet heartland, a really sensitively oaked Syrah. Sweet and concentrated.
£16 Tesco
Knipser Blauer Spätburgunder 2019 Pfalz 13%
Another great price for a mature alternative to red burgundy from Germany.
£16.50 The Wine Society
Château Barréjat, Les Vieux Ceps 2022 Madiran 14.5%
Unusually approachable oaked blend of Tannat from very old vines plus both Cabernets but it should continue to evolve. Needs food.
£16.95 Stone, Vine & Sun
Samartzis, M Merlot/Mouchtaro 2022 PGI Central Greece 13.5%
Lovely luminous Greek blend that’s already delicious in a cranberry sort of way.
£16.90 Tanners
Château Lanessan 2012 Haut-Médoc 13%
Bordeaux’s red 2012s are drinking beautifully now. A charming mature classic.
£17 The Wine Society
Alberta 2022 Barbera d’Alba 14.5%
Certified organic. Fine example of the new school of Piemontese red without obvious oak.
£17.50 Haynes Hanson & Clark
Springfontein, Terroir Selection Pinotage 2018 Springfontein Rim 14.5%
Jeanne Vito calls herself ‘an Afropean wine entrepreneur brought up in Chablis’ and has been shaking up this isolated wine farm. Sumptuous and unusually mature.
£17.95 Private Cellar
Victor Blachet, Bourgogne 2022 Hautes-Côtes de Beaune 12.5%
Look for a big Bourgogne on the label not the producer name. Of course this is no rival to the finest red burgundy but all credit to Tesco’s buyer for finding something that tastes vaguely like it at £18.
£18 Tesco
The Long Road Syrah 2022 Cape South Coast 13%
Fresher and lighter than the Chilean version above, from the super-talented Samantha O’Keefe of Lismore in South Africa. Clever buying again.
£18 Tesco
Chateau Marsyas, B-Qa de Marsyas 2019 Lebanon 15.5%
Spicy, very full-bodied, rich Cabernet blend from a country that needs help.
£19 Corney & Barrow
Paolo Scavino Nebbiolo 2021 Langhe 14.5%
Perfect for those looking for a bargain alternative to Barolo. Unnecessarily heavy bottle, though.
£19.40 Justerini & Brooks
Fossil Point Pinot Noir 2020 Edna Valley 14.5%
Light but convincing Pinot aroma. Some sweet fruit and freshness. This may not be burgundy but it is one of Corney's real finds, though not for ageing.
£19.95 Corney & Barrow
Château Capbern 2018 St-Estèphe 14%
Always reliable, always a bargain, with the stoniness of the appellation – and quite a bit of well-disguised alcohol in 2018.
£119.92 per case of 6 Justerini & Brooks (the equivalent of £19.99 a bottle)
M Chapoutier 2022 Crozes-Hermitage 13%
Chapoutier is always reliable and Crozes seems to be having its moment in the sun recently. Certified organic. Classic, peppery northern Rhône red.
£20 Tesco
Bernard Baudry 2021 Chinon 12%
Certified organic. Classic Cabernet Franc taffeta and pencil-shavings character. Delicious now.
£20.50 Lea & Sandeman
Domaine Pellé, Les Cris 2021 Menetou-Salon 13%
A fine-value alternative to a Côte de Beaune, based on Pinot Noir vines planted in 1967.
£21 The Wine Society
Arnaud Lambert, Mazurique 2022 Saumur 13.5%
Fresh and zippy from 40-year-old Cabernet Franc vines. Unoaked.
£21 Berry Bros & Rudd
Battenfeld-Spanier Spätburgunder 2020 Rheinhessen 12.5%
Aromatic, refined texture with true Pinot Noir flavours. Drink now!
£22 Chanctonbury Wines
Lelie van Saron Syrah 2021 Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 13%
Admirable enterprise on the part of Natasha Williams, brought up in the South African bush by abstinent parents but now a celebrated young winemaker. For Jamet fans.
£22 The Wine Society
Band of Vintners, Consortium Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Napa Valley 14.5%
Extraordinary value from a group of well-connected Napa wine guys. Long, rich but not heavy. An exception!
£22.08 reduced from £29.76 Justerini & Brooks
Tablas Creek, Patelin de Tablas 2022 Paso Robles 13.5%
Gentle, complex, from a pioneer of Rhône varieties, alternative packaging and, the latest eco-approach, regenerative viticulture.
£23 The Wine Society
Peter Sichel, Cucuniano 2022 IGP Aude 13.5%
Called after the old name for Cucugnan in the wilds of Corbières, where the late Bordeaux sage established an outpost. Syrah with Grenache and Carignan treated to Bordeaux refinement.
£24.95 Berry Bros & Rudd
Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy, Terre de Maimbray Rouge 2022 Sancerre 13.5%
Proof that Sancerre can give red burgundy a run for its money.
£25, £14 a half Haynes Hanson & Clark
Weinert, Cavas de Weinert 2012 Mendoza 14.9%
Look at that vintage! Long aged in oak to provide a wine as welcoming as your slippers. Potent, mind you.
£25 The Wine Society
Poggio Landi 2018 Brunello di Montalcino 14%
Excellent price for a recognisable, mature Brunello.
£26 Tesco
Domaine de Cébène, Les Bancels 2020 Faugères 13.5%
I included this in a collection of much more expensive wines shown to serious wine students recently and they couldn’t believe the value and complexity. Brigitte Chevalier delivers from her little Languedoc winery.
£30 Highbury Vintners
Château Pichon Baron, Les Griffons de Pichon Baron 2018 Pauillac 14.5%
From one of the most reliable châteaux in the whole of the Médoc, a mellow second wine with real class. Why pay more? (Unless you already have the grand vin in your cellar.) The 2016 is the youngest (just) approachable vintage of Pichon Baron itself and that will set you back more than £200.
£34 R&B, £37.50 Honest Grapes
Bibi Graetz, Casamatta Podere di Fiesole 2022 IGP Toscana 13.5%
High-elevation Sangiovese from Fiesole just outside Florence. Smart.
£35.50 Bottle Apostle
Rhys, Alesia Pinot Noir 2018 Santa Cruz Mountains 13%
Kevin Harvey was a trailblazer with meticulously designed vineyards in the mountains between the Pacific and Silicon Valley. Appetisingly savoury rather than sweet.
£37.01 Justerini & Brooks
Sette Cieli, Noi 4 2022 Bolgheri 14.5%
From one of the highest estates in this fashionable source of glamorous Bordeaux blends.
£42 The Wine Society
Maison Roche de Bellene, Vieilles Vignes 2021 Volnay 13%
Really successful Volnay-with-a-future from Nicolas Potel, whose family used to own Domaine de la Pousse d’Or in Volnay so presumably he has an especially good supplier there.
£43 Tanners
Domaine Génot-Boulanger, Vieilles Vignes 2018 Pommard 13.5%
Lots of personality here. Help Justerinis offload their stock!
£43.40 Justerini & Brooks
Newfound, Shake Ridge Vineyard Grenache 2019 Amador County 13.9%
Quite a discovery, from one of California’s most highly regarded vineyards, in this case in gold country.
£46 Jeroboams
Piero Busso, Albesani-Borgese 2016 Barbaresco 15%
Good grip and real personality. A welcoming, mature example.
£49.09 Justerini & Brooks
Domaine Génot-Boulanger, Les Grèves Premier Cru 2017 Beaune 13.5%
2017 is the red burgundy vintage to drink now. From a great, often underpriced, vineyard.
£53.81 Justerini & Brooks
M Marengo, Brunate 2018 Barolo 14%
This beautifully made wine from a famous cru is looking gorgeous now.
£54.05 Justerini & Brooks
Camille Giroud, Les Lurets Premier Cru 2017 Volnay 12%
Delicate Volnay with lots of fruit and charm. Not overpriced in a Burgundy context.
£55 Berry Bros & Rudd
Familia Torres, Mas la Plana 2018 Penedes 14.5%
This was the Cabernet that ‘won’ the famous Gault & Millau Wine Olympics in 1979, and the Torres family continue to ensure it keeps its place.
£57.99 Majestic
Frédéric Magnien, Vieilles Vignes 2019 Gevrey-Chambertin 13%
Really satisfying round, interesting fruit with good fruit/acid balance on the palate. Only just ready to drink. Classic Gevrey with zip and persistence.
£58 Yapp
Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Puente Alto 14.5%
An absolutely glorious vintage of this classic from Chile’s heartland of tip-top Bordeaux-like reds. Wine Spectator’s wine of the year, deservedly.
£118.80 Penistone Cellars, £120 Cellar Door Wines
For tasting notes, scores and suggested drinking dates, see our 270,000-strong tasting notes database. For international stockists, see Wine-Searcher.com.