Stockist/Retailer: Asda

(2024) In Asda, this is a wine from Mendoza that is a multi-variety blend. It majors on Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah which make up 97% of the blend, plus a splash of Tannat. It is assembled after separate fermentation of the components, and it is unoaked. Plummy and spicy stuff, a little bit of prune but also a distinct olive/herb lift. The palate has sweetness - maybe a touch of residual sugar, but also ripe berry fruit. The finish is spicy and fruity finishing gently.

(2024) This Chilean wine is an unusual blend of mostly Sauvignon Blanc, the light peach/orange colour and hint of red berries coming from Pinot Noir. Aromatically, small redcurrant and cranberry notes join racier lemon withba touch of orange peel. The palate is fairly straightforward with citrus juiciness and a dry finish.

(2024) From Lisboa, this is mostly the local Castelão, along with 20% Tinta Roriz and 20% Syrah. The colourful label, from a joyful painting by street artist Hauke Vagt, sets the tone for an easy drinking but crisp and refreshing wine, pale salmon in colour and with a juicy strawberry and citrus palate. The picture here is fun, but actually very nicely balanced and juicy stuff.

(2023) The Plaimont cooperative in Southwest France produces this crisp but easy-drinking white from Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc and Gros Manseng.  With only 11.5% it's a lighter, summery style, but some skin maceration adds a little texture and complexity. Fresh, melon and lime aromas run to a palate that echoes that along with some tropical guava. A nicely pithy lemon acidity and perhaps the merest smidgen of residual sugar just softening the finish to let the fruit show through. On roll-back to £6 at time of review. Watch the video for more information.

(2023) I have already reviewed the white and red partners to this Languedoc pink, which all come in the same very distinctive, squat little bottles. It's actually a brand of Australian giant Banrock Station, but made in France. Everything is basically 100% recycled: glass, labels and screwcap. It blends 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault and 10% Syrah and was fermented in both stainless steel and concrete tanks. Fashionably pale, small red berries and a little floral note before a palate with maybe just a hint of residual sugar, red berries running into lime.

(2023) Widely available in UK supermarkets, Taylor's 2018 Late Bottled Vintage is dark as pitch and has a floral, violet-edge note to the fragrance, cassis and black cherry following. So much brighter in character than the Fonseca Bin 27 also tasted. In the mouth the 104g/l of sugar plays out with mouth-filling sweetness and weight, ripe berries and again, cherry, with a dustiness to the tannins in teh finish that adds a welcome, ashy dryness to counter the lingering sweetness.

(2023) Wise Wolf is a new brand from Hardy's Banrock Station of Australia, but the wines made in the Languedoc, South of France. Packed in unusual, squat little bottles that stress their eco credentials, being made from recycled and recyclable glass. The stuff inside is a fairly chunky, ripe and smooth Cabernet, with plenty of sweet blackcurrant fruit if a slightly jammy edge. It won't set the heather on fire, but it is an interesting project and the packaging a talking point for sure. Also in Morrisons and Sainsbury's, though a pound or two dearer. There's a Chardonnay in the range which is a touch non-descript, and a rosé which I have not tasted. Watch the video for more information.

(2022) The giant French company behind this product (which I believe is made in Spain) failed to have 'Nosecco' accepted as a brand name, but the intention is surely obvious. It's an alcohol free fizz, or as the label so appealingly puts it, an 'aerated flavoured drink based on de-alcoholised wine'. I have no idea what grapes are used, but that really is unimportant in a product like this, a neutral base sparged with CO2 and flavoured with who knows what. It smells floral and herbal, reminding me of other alcohol free wines flavoured with elderflower and green tea for example, and the considerable sweetness - which I think might be as high as 50g/l of residual sugar - offset by decent levels of acidity to leave it refreshing enough. So why is a serious wine site recommending this? Well it's the start of 'Sober October' for some people looking to have a month without alcohol, and as long as you don't take it - or yourself - too seriously, it does its job well enough at a giveaway price - as low as £2.50 occasionally. Very widely available. Watch the video for more information.

(2022) Sourced from several South Australian wine-growing regions, this is made with wild fermentation and lees ageing. Very attractive Viognier aromatics, lightly floral and herbal, which gives an attractive edge to the more ripe and tropical fruit. The wild yeast ferment no doubt adding to the quite complex aromatics for a £7.50 wine. In the mouth it is quite oily-textured and weighty, and there is a sour lemony acid that drives the mid-palate and finish. That gives a savoury character, quite orangy, the sweet peach fruit just balanced on the mid-palate.

(2021) If you are a fan of Mud House's wines you might have done a double-take on this one: a famous name of Marlborough in New Zealand, this is their new venture in Chile. The wine is a very good quality, commercial Sauvignon from the Central Valley, with a headline price of £9.00 but this is one of those big brand wines that will always be discounted somewhere - it's £6.99 in Majestic and £7.50 in Asda at time of review. Plenty of vivacious elderflower and asparagus notes to ripe tropical fruit, and a rich, full-fruited palate that has a little honeyed weight, a hint of sweetness, and good acid balance. Easy-drinking, it's a good party all-rounder but watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.