Budget reds from The Wine Society
First of a two-parter recommending some sub-£12.50 bangers. Fill your boots!
I’ve been a member of the Wine Society for so long that I faxed my very first order which seems bananas to even contemplate now though I like to think that there’s a colonel in deepest Worcestshire who stills faxes his order in every month. When I first joined, I imagined that after a few years shopping at the bottom end of the list, in a few years I’d be buying en primeur Bordeaux and vintage champagne. Well it never happened, I’m still buying the same old wines even though many have doubled in price.
For those who don’t know, The Wine Society is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by its members. £40 buys you one share in the company and membership for life.This means that any profit the Society makes is put back into the company rather than paid out to shareholders. This secure trading base keeps prices down at a time when the price of wine generally is soaring.
So in these dark times etc. etc. I thought it would be useful to share my unrivalled knowledge of the bottom end of the the list. These are all wines that I have enjoyed multiple vintages of and never disappoint. None will cost you more than £12.50 a bottle. Today I’ll do the reds and later in the week some whites. Let me know if there’s anything I’ve overlooked. With wines like these, you never need to leave the house.
Chateau Courac Cotes-du-Rhone 2019 - £9.75
A toss up between this and the widely available Guigal Cotes-du-Rhone as my favourite budget wine from this region. It’s all ripe strawberries and mellow spices. As you can see from the vintage, it ages beautifully too. Where else can you get a sub £9 mature Rhone of this quality?
Pinot Noir Puy de Dome 2022 - £9.95
Cheap pinots seem to fall into two categories, the insipid and the jammy. Somehow this wine from the Auvergne (which I always have to Google, it’s nearly in the middle of France just to west of Lyon) manages to be neither. It’s a bit rustic and stalky with masses of dark cherry fruit. Not elegant but always delicious.
Saumur les Plantagenets 2021 - £9.25
Cabernet franc from the Loire is one of my all time favourite wines. It’s that slatey refreshing edge that makes it so addictive. Forget about wine and food matching, just get a load of this in, chill if slightly and it will go with pretty much anything. In this vintage, it’s particularly light, juicy and fun.
Weinert Carrascal 2019 - £12.50
My friend refers to this as the funky Mendoza and in some vintages, blimey is it funky. A blend of malbec, cabernet and merlot aged in large old oak barrels until it’s mellow and good. A world away from most Argentine wines, its more like old school Rioja or Chateau Musar. I wrote a profile for The Critic of this charming producer if you want to know more.
If sounds a bit counter intuitive but Bordeaux, outside the famous bits, is a brilliant hunting ground for bargain reds and increasingly good whites. This wine is delicious fresh and ripe, juicy but with a nice bite to it. There’s no obvious oak and it’s not trying to be something it’s not. The price is absolutely absurd. If you’re looking for something a bit more ‘Sunday lunch’ then for £14.50 The Wine Society’s Generation Series Haut-Médoc 2019 is hard to beat. It’s made by Chateau Beaumont, long a great destination for impecunious Bordeaux lovers.
Chateau Courac Cotes-du-Rhone 2019 is our new House Wine, incredible for under £10
That pinot is a great recommendation. Delicious. Really well made. Reminded me of the Bourgogne Passetoutgrains I had at my wedding.