Truly Irresistible Leyda Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 2015 (£6.99, the Co-operative) In the past couple of years, the Co-operative has quietly established itself as one of the better places to buy wine on the high street. It doesn’t go in for the kind of showy window-dressing favoured by some of its supermarket rivals, where the distracting presence of a handful of fine wines in a handful of stores is meant to mask the increasing blandness of the rest of the range. The Co-op has, instead, been working on the basics, mostly choosing the producers it works with for its own-labels and brands wisely. This sauvignon blanc, for example, is made by the justly admired Viña Leyda from the eponymous coastal Chilean region, and is a gloriously zippy, verdant, citrusy bargain.
Trapiche Pure Malbec, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina 2014 (£8.99, the Co-operative) There are another couple of well-priced, well-made Chileans in the Co-op’s presumptuously named but occasionally sumptuous own-label range. At £7.99, the Truly Irresistible Casablanca Valley Pinot Noir 2015 offers the supple texture and sweet forest floor and red-fruit flavours pinot-lovers crave but rarely find for under a tenner. And the Truly Irresistible Bío Bío Valley Malbec 2013 (£6.99) mixes dark fruit and spice with floral freshness and trademark Chilean mintiness. The latter is proof of Chile’s increasing affinity with malbec, although another Co-op wine suggests the Argentinians still have the edge, the unoaked Pure Malbec being particularly joyous and fragrant.
Bibbiano Chianti Classico, Italy 2012 (£9.99, the Co-operative) When it comes to European wine, the Co-op isn’t exactly out there balancing on the cutting edge. But it does the classics very well. If there’s a better-value pair of own-label champagnes than the two Les Pionniers wines (a non-vintage, £16.99, and the rich and creamy 2006 Vintage, £24.99) by P&C Heidsieck I’ve yet to find them. Also, the youthful, succulent Château Brassac 2012 (£9.99) and the savoury, mature Diane de Belgrave 2008 (£12.99) are both excellent examples of affordable modern Bordeaux. And I loved a new addition from one of my favourite Tuscan producers: Bibbiano’s unforced, unoaked, cherry-filled Chianti Classico.
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