Is £10 the perfect price to pay for a bottle of wine? So says Mark Price, former managing director of Waitrose, who says it’s the sweet spot where quality and price meet. It’s just a shame he didn’t let shoppers in on the secret when he was a supermarket boss, instead waiting until he has a book to flog. As editor of Decanter, I relentlessly banged on about the fact that when you spend £5 on a bottle of wine (the average is £5.39), around 35p actually goes on what’s in the bottle. The rest is tax (which accounts for a whopping £3), transport, marketing, margins and the like. Since these are fixed costs, spend £10, and the extra dosh goes largely on the wine. Decanter readers were mostly minded to splash the cash on even pricier cuvees, many of which, as Price points out, are an acquired taste. But between £8 and £12, you tend to get better, more complex versions of the sub-£6 plonk. Unfortunately, supermarkets are still wedded to herding shoppers to the cheap-and-not-so-cheerful, meaning many consumers remain in the dark. Here are five to seek out.
Viña Leyda, Reserva sauvignon blanc 2014 £10, Oddbins
Chile is a particularly good bet for wines that over deliver in the £8-£12 bracket, and its sauvignon blancs tend to offer a fuller, fruitier palate than their more linear New Zealand counterparts. This manages to offer both zing and depth.
Laithwaites sauvignon blanc 2015 £10.99, Laithwaites
Another fine alternative to the overpriced, overpowering New Zealand sauvignons. Bordeaux reds aren’t known for value, but the region’s whites are an under-the-radar surprise – this is gloriously creamy and layered.
St Pierre, Le Gardien chardonnay, Bourgogne 2015, £9.99, Waitrose
Don’t like chardonnay? This Burgundian rendering will change your mind – it has pretty much become my house wine (though hopefully Price’s old employers don’t see this and raise the, er, price).
Viña Alarde, rioja gran reserva 2008 £11.99 – but £8.99 a bottle if you buy six, Majestic
I’ve argued several times in print that rioja is the best-value wine region around, and this only lends more power to my elbow. Afantastic blend of savoury, dark fruit and subtle, integrated oak that comes from almost a decade of ageing.
La La Land, tempranillo, Victoria 2015, £9.99, Majestic
The grape variety is Spanish but this is a fine example of Australia’s evolution towards more elegant, structured reds. Silky smooth, and with rather more depth than its film namesake.
