If you know where to look there’s value to be found in every wine region, even the most famously expensive ones like Bordeaux and Burgundy. While it’s true that both these regions are better known for their premium offerings, you can still find value-for-money bottles and enjoy something truly special without breaking the bank.

Putting our money where pour mouth is we’ve pulled together a number of wines from across Bordeaux and Burgundy, all priced under £20 a bottle. There’s something for everyone here; red, white, rosé, sparkling and sweet, and as well as wines from basic appellations such as AOC Bourgogne there are a handful from better known areas including Chablis, Haut-Médoc and Sauternes.

Some of the best value wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy can be found via well known importers such as Corney & Barrow or The Wine Society, sold under their own labels. Supermarket own brand labels are also worth looking at, and there are a few of these in our selection too.

Best value Burgundy and Bordeaux, our top picks:

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With Christmas just around the corner, and delivery delays looming large, it’s time to think seriously about replenishing your cellar with all the wine you’ll need in the festive weeks to come.

The festive season might be the time to splurge and treat yourself to a more expensive bottle. But with so many, and such different, moments of celebration, you’ll want to have some safe good-value options to choose from as well. Save where you can so you can spend more on gifts and other treats!

With that in mind, we’ve selected 20 wines, all under £15 a bottle, that deliver all the festive satisfaction without breaking the bank. They might even become your new everyday drinking favourites and/or cellar staples in the New Year.

The selection below covers a wide selection of regions and styles, which will pair perfectly with the different festive meals, whether it’s turkey, duck, beef, vegetarian banquet or boxing day leftovers. Another advantage of going for multiple, good-value pours rather than a single flagship bottle is that you’ll be able to cater to a wider range of tastes and requirements.

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Important things to know when picking a red wine for Christmas:

• Beware of tannins – Festive food tends to be quite intense, with multiple flavours, spices, and textures, as well with a significant amount of fat. Tannins bind with these compounds and if a wine is too tannic this will not be a pleasant feeling. So go for wines with medium, riper tannins instead. Or for wines that have lots of tannins but have mellowed through extended ageing. Keep the punchy reds for strong yet lean textures such as roast beef or braised tuna.
• If you’re looking for a wine for homemade mulled wine, choose a medium-bodied style that has fruit but also herbal flavours. These will make for a more enjoyable and complex drink. Think Merlot or Cabernet Franc, rather than Garnacha.
• Get the serving temperature of your red right – One of the most common mistakes when serving reds is to pour them too warm. This means actually need to be properly chilled down. Light to medium bodied reds should be at 12-16°C (54-61°F), while fuller bodied reds should be served at 15-18°C (59-65°F).
• Price doesn’t always matter – while it can be an indication of quality, it is sometimes (often!) also driven by availability, brand placement and market pressures. You can trust some of the wines below to deliver the same quality and satisfaction than other bottles found on shelves at £20+
• Trust your supplier – the best way to know whether you’re truly getting bang for your buck, as opposed to a low quality bargain, is to buy from trusted suppliers whose selections are careful and thoughtful, across price points. Our selection was also made with this in mind.

Red wine for Christmas under £15:

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As Christmas approaches we’re all looking for an offer on our wine shopping, and Waitrose’s Fine Wines at £10 promotion is a particularly tempting proposition, with 10 fine wines (plus one tawny Port) across different styles, marked down to just a tenner each. 

This represents a significant discount on the retail price for most of the wines featured – all of these wines will set you back at least £14.99 when not discounted, and the most expensive included in the offer (the Villa Antinori Rosso di Toscana) has a price-tag of £18.99, so a great saving if you’re on the lookout for a Tuscan red to go with your festive meat dishes.

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Classic styles

This Christmas promotion is all about the classics, with the line-up including customer favourites such as Chablis, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Provence Rosé, Rioja and Argentinian Malbec among the featured wines, as well as a sparkling wine and the tawny Port. 

It may seem like a rather conservative selection given the excitement elsewhere in Waitrose’s range – in its excellent Loved & Found discovery range, for example – but it’s the classic styles that are most in demand at this time of year so these are unsurprisingly the focus here. This is not a line-up that is going to broaden your horizons, but without a doubt these wines are great value at this price.

So what were the highlights of the range? Among the whites, the crisply mineral Broglia Gavi di Gavi from Piedmont is delicious, and would be a good match for fish or seafood dishes. And for red, we’d make a beeline for the Aussie Shiraz, The Hedonist, made from McLaren Vale fruit – a full-bodied and richly fruited wine that would be perfect in these freezing winter temperatures.

This year’s promotion runs while stocks last, until 1 January 2024, in most stores and online – at Waitrose.com and Waitrose Cellar. (The exception to this is the Chablis, which is available at the £10 price only until 13 December.) 

Waitrose’s 10 Fine Wines at £10

All wines tasted 21 November 2023. Prices shown here are the full retail prices, and do not reflect this special offer. Some wines might only be available in selected stores. Wines grouped by style and ordered by score, in descending order.

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Light up your Christmas with the vivacious bubbles and bright acidity of English sparkling and still wines, hand-picked by the Decanter team. Be spoiled for choice from premium bubbles, festive rosés and gift options in magnum format. All wines are above 88 points.

Our highlights

From the premium end, the 2010 vintage of Nyetimber’s 1086 is the latest release of the estate’s Prestige Cuvée. A truly special treat that stands testament to the ageing potential of English sparkling wines. Hambledon Vineyard’s Première Cuvée Rosé 2016, driven by Pinot Meunier, offers a punchy, memorable flavour profile that sets to change your perception of an English sparkling rosé.

For Christmas gift ideas, Exton Park has released a twin-pack of its 2014 Blanc de Blancs, one cellar-aged and one sea-aged, each showing intriguingly distinctive characters. From Simpsons Wine Estate, the Q Class Chardonnay, in magnum, is only made in exceptional years. The 2020 vintage was especially impressive with its depth and richness. Ridgeview’s late disgorged edition of its NV Oak Reserve sparkling wine, with its laminated cherry wood label, will certainly inspire some curious conversations at the dinner table.

For fizzes that offer both value and quality, Greyfriars’ Blanc de Blancs 2015, at £27 per bottle, is our top recommendation. The NV Brut from Louis Pommery, at £30 via Ocado, and Quob Park Extra Brut at £31.50, are also value finds that won’t disappoint.

If you are in the mood for Burgundian-style still whites, opt for Balfour Winery’s tank-aged Skye’s Chardonnay 2022 or Gusbourne’s barrel-fermented Guinevere Chardonnay 2021 and savour the subtle differences. For a serious taste of the English ‘signature grape’ – Bacchus – Chapel Down’s Kit’s Coty Bacchus 2020 will surprise you with its complex perfume and palate.

For a splash of colour, some of our favourite festive pinks include Rathfinny’s sparkling Rosé 2019, Black Chalk’s Wild Rose 2020 and Railway Hill Rosé 2022 from Simpsons.

A growing industry

In 2022, 12.2 million bottles of wine were produced in Great Britain, a 130% increase from 2017, according to the most recent survey conducted by industry body WineGB.

Britain has 3,928ha of land under vine – excluding an estimated further 400ha planted in 2023 – and 943 vineyards and 209 wineries.

Chardonnay (1228ha), Pinot Noir (1,141ha) and Pinot Meunier (343) remain the favourites of wine growers in England and Wales, while cool-climate varieties such as Bacchus (298ha), Seyval Blanc (122ha) and Solaris (95ha) are increasingly valued for their ability to produce quality still wines.

Sparkling wines still account for 68% of Britain’s total wine production, with the majority (93%) made using the traditional method. The remaining 32% of production comprises a wide range of still wines, among which 62% are white and 21% are rosé.

Data from WineGB / Wine Standards

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The buyers for the German-owned supermarket, which established itself in the UK in 1994, do a great job of sourcing small quantities of interesting and well-priced wines for the Wine Tour line-up. Between this and the core range, it offers a comprehensive selection of Old and New World wines across a range of styles.

Lidl Wine Tour

Lidl has made an important change to the frequency of its ‘Wine Tour’ schedule, which until recently changed the focus of its in-store range every two months.

Now, Lidl’s wine range (other than its core wines, which are a permanent fixture on the shelves) will be refreshed every month, meaning that if you like the look of a particular wine featured below, you’d best act quickly!

The Christmas Wine Tour begins on 30 November 2023. Top picks include Alte Vogtei Zu Ravensburg’s Spätburgunder (£9.99), a German Pinot Noir which offers fresh, tangy red fruits, and Santa Rita’s Medalla Real Cabernet Sauvignon (£9.99), a ripe, creamy, dark-fruited red from Chile. 

Also worth picking up is Walter Skoff’s Sauvignon Blanc (£11.99) from Austria, which is full of green fruits, peach and white pepper – a marked difference to your typical New Zealand Sauvignon (see below), and Corte Allodola’s Lugana (£8.99), an Italian white which offers yellow fruit aromas with a peach and herb finish.

You’ll also find more typical festive fare, such as Château les Tuileries Bordeaux (£6.99) and Les Paroisses Châteauneuf-du-Pape. And if you’re after a good value sweet wine, look no further than the Sárga Borház, Késői Szüret Late Harvest Hárslevelü, Tokaji.

I have to admit to not being blown away by the small range of Champagnes available at Lidl – if you’re after some fizz without breaking the bank, instead try the Amorany Cava (£7.99), which offers some funky orange peel and stone fruit aromas and flavours.

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Deluxe wine range

Earlier this year Lidl launched a Deluxe wine range, a logical step, since the Deluxe branding has been on the shelves in UK stores since 2008 in other food and drink lines, and has won a loyal following. 

The Deluxe collection is part of the core range but the wines are geared towards those looking to take the next step in their wine journey: the Deluxe New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Awatere in Marlborough (£7.99) is a good pick for new world Sauvignon fans.

The best Lidl wines to drink this winter:

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Ahead of the celebration of its 150th anniversary in 2024, The Wine Society is geared up for a fabulous festive season, with a selection of classics and boundary-pushing styles at an unbeatable price/quality ratio.

Decanter’s Outstanding Wine Retailer of the Year 2023 has persevered in keeping prices stable, malgré tout, providing its members with much needed reassurance against the backdrop of inflation and rising alcohol duty. Time to stock up, before energy prices rise again in January, and let the merriment begin.

Pop that fizz

Much thanks to the tasting acumen and strategic savvy of buyer Sarah Knowles MW, the sparkling section remains strong, with quite a few classic festive bargains up for grabs. While there are plenty of deals covering the obvious appellations – especially the inevitable Champagne – it’s worth exploring the wider fizz selection, with jewels from other geographies offering great, intriguing alternatives. The Vouvray below, for example, with its savoury complexity and incredible persistence, is an absolute steal for less than £15.

White and red

Plunging temperatures might make you think mostly of warning reds but no celebration is complete without a comprehensive selection that includes whites and rosés as well. Serve them as an aperitif, alongside bubbles, or select richer styles for smart food pairings. Our round-up includes many food-friendly whites (and a delicious dark-hued pink from Tavel), perfect for the celebratory table and winter blues.

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Classics and mavericks

The Wine Society never fails to deliver a wide and interesting line up from go-to regions. This winter is no exception and one can easily select from an appealing range from Chianti, Rioja, Bordeaux and Burgundy, many of which will make for great, uncontentious gifts.

But while the retailer is known for consistently delivering on classics – notably though its comprehensive own-label range, strongly represented below, for which it has enlisted some top producers – the retailer has also become a champion of maverick and unexplored regions. All to the benefit of its members who can choose from an ever-more exciting selection of Eastern European, Austrian, Swiss, Greek, and overlooked French, Spanish and Portuguese appellations.

Some producers stand out and it’s good to see them gaining better footing in the UK market thanks to The Wine Society. Jurtschitsch (Kamptal, Austria), Kolonics (Somló, Hungary) and Thymioupoulos (Naoussa, Greece) are among the many names worth seeking out.

Fortified and sweet

Two other categories of compulsory exploration on the company’s website – ahead of the festive season and otherwise – are sweets and fortifieds. From outstanding sherries for less than a tenner to warming LBV Ports, by way of intriguing and luscious sticky pours, there really is someone for everyone. Again, it’s worth thinking ‘outside the box’ and seeking out alternatives to the go-to regions and/or producers. Or you might miss out on great-value jewels such as Sánchez Romate’s Fino and Oloroso.

There’s absolutely no excuse for a Christmas cheese served without a proper and interesting pairing.

Inside the box

TWS also has a great selection of curated cases (both wine-only and including food treats) and classy hampers. These will work either as ready-made party kits or thoughtful and stylish gifts. Reflecting the variety of its range there are cases for explorers (Adventurers’ Case, £62/6 bottles) and non-risk takers alike (Members’ Favourites, £94/12 bottles; Wine Champion Winners Reds Case, £55/6 bottles). If you feel like you can somewhat stretch the budget try The Ultimate Christmas Day Case (£156), with a selection of six fantastic bottles. There’s even a Gin and Tonic case, complete with dry olive slices for garnish and accompanying snacks.

The Wine Society: top buys this Winter

All wines tasted 28 September 2023. Prices do not reflect any special or multi-buy offers.
Prices are accurate at the time of writing

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You might assume that because Tesco is the UK’s largest supermarket, the wines will be commercial, uninspiring and mass-produced, aimed at the shopper who doesn’t really care what they’re drinking and simply makes a beeline for the latest offer. Happily that’s not the case. Although, like any supermarket, Tesco has its share of cheap and dull wines, its wine department is excellent at sourcing bottles across all styles that offer personality, interest and quality. And its purchasing power means that they are often keenly priced too – and that’s before any discounts for Tesco Clubcard holders or ‘25% off when you buy six bottles’ promotions.

Scroll down for scores and tasting notes of the best Tesco wines

The recent press tasting of the autumn/winter 2023 range confirms that the retailer continues to go from strength to strength in terms of its wine offering. The tasting showcased 150 wines: even that was only a snapshot of the total range, but it included a number of new vintages, and 18 wines that were completely new to the range, many perfect for drinking over the winter months. 

Tesco Finest own-labels

As usual, Tesco’s own-label Finest wines, made in partnership with a variety of respected producers and cooperatives, feature prominently in our recommendations. The retailer works hard to ensure that these expressions of classic styles are priced competitively and show good typicity, and they’re a great way to explore different regional styles from both Old and New World, at all price levels. Highlights in the current line-up include 2017 vintage Champagne (£30), the spicy, nutty Viña del Cura white Rioja (£10), the cranberry-scented Central Otago Pinot Noir (£14), perfect to accompany your Christmas turkey, and the robust Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe (£21), a Rhône classic at an affordable price. Tesco is in the process of unveiling new label designs for many of its Finest wines – many of  which are already available in store, with the remainder launching before next spring. 

Respected estates

There are many leading estates behind Tesco’s Finest – Baron de Ley, for instance, who makes the white Rioja name-checked above, and Symington Family Estates, renowned for its portfolio of famous Port names and the big name behind the delicious and great-value 2013 Finest Vintage Port (£22). But beyond the own-labels, Tesco’s range includes many more wines from well-respected producers, including Australia’s Penfolds (with its Father Grand Tawny fortified wine at £26), Pomerol’s Clos l’Eglise with its second wine Esprit de l’Eglise 2013, £25 (note the bottle age – a great one to crack open over the holidays), and California Rhône ranger Bonny Doon with its stunning, £17 white blend, Le Cigare Blanc (the red is also excellent). These are all estates with a good reputation, and worth seeking out.

Spectrum of styles

At this time of year more than any other, wine lovers are reaching for a wide variety of styles, from sparkling wine and Champagne, through dry whites, rosé and reds, to sweet and fortified wines. 

Let’s start with bubbly. The elegantly packaged Cava Segura Viudas is perfect for parties, affordable at £12 a bottle, but made using the Champagne method and displaying toasty, yellow apple fruit flavours. Or for something more upmarket, why not reach for the Louis Pommery English Sparkling wine (£28), to see what a Champagne producer can achieve on this side of the Channel? If sparkling rosé is more your preference, look to Provence producer Mirabeau for its rose-tinted La Folie fizz (£14).

Refreshing whites include the delicious, peachy and steely dry Riesling (£13) from leading German estate Schloss Vollrads, and Gérard Bertrand’s full-flavoured, lemony Picpoul de Pinet (£12.50) – the latter would work a treat with your Christmas seafood platter. Meanwhile Sauvignon Blanc fans are spoiled for choice: options include the Garuma Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (£11) from Chile’s Leyda, and two crackers from Marlborough, Cru’s classy Smith & Sheth Sauvignon Blanc (£18) and the more affordable Yealands Sauvignon Blanc (£10). For Chardonnay lovers – the Petit Chablis is great value at £16.50, made by the region’s leading and well-respected co-operative UVC. 

Before moving to reds, a mention for Domaine d’Arbousset’s Tavel Rosé (£12.50), a deeper shade of pink, a fuller style but still fresh, juicy and dry – perfect for the colder months. Among the reds recommended below, a good-value southern Rhône wine made by the same producer, Domaine d’Arbousset’s Lirac (£12). Whizzing over to the New World, Tesco has a very strong selection from Chile and Argentina, including two Chilean own-labels (Finest Carmenere at £9, and Finest Merlot at £8.50) and a new Malbec from the Uco Valley, Gran Mascota (£14).

Lastly, it’s the holidays, so a great excuse to indulge in some sweet wine, Sherry and Port. Why not try serving the Finest Sauternes (£13.50) as an aperitif, with chicken liver on toast, instead of with the dessert course? Or pick up a half-bottle of the treacly Finest Pedro Ximénez (£6.50), probably the sweetest wine you’ve ever tried, and just bursting with the flavours of Christmas.

Old favourites

The 30 wines below are a tiny selection from Tesco’s enormous wine range, curated so that shoppers scrolling through on their mobile phones in the wine aisle aren’t overwhelmed. Inevitably this means that some old favourites have to make way for new recommendations. No room to include a full recommendation below, but those wines still on the shelves and previously recommended by Decanter include Loire Cabernet Franc, Les Terrases, from the appellation of St Nicolas de Bourgeuil, which is full of lively berry fruit and a hint of pepper, and only 12.5% alcohol – perfect for those who prefer a lighter style of red. Still on red, I’d also pick out the Finest Trilogy Malbec (£13), made by Catena; and Howard Park’s Margaret River Cabernet (£12). And for parties, the great-value Bergerac red, Eglise Saint Jacques (£7). Lastly, on the sweet side, the Finest Dessert Semillon is made by respected Aussie producer De Bortoli and is a complete bargain at £6.75 for a half-bottle.

Top wine buys at Tesco:

The 30 recommendations that follow are mainly new wines and new vintages tasted by Natalie Earl and Amy Wislocki in October 2023 at Tesco’s Autumn/Winter 2023 press tasting in London, as well as a few wines tasted by the Decanter tastings team at the spring/summer press tasting that are still available. All bottle prices are correct at time of publication.

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These days Laithwaites wine portfolio almost exclusively operate within the £12 to £25 price range, comprising wines from producers around the world.

Below you’ll find some wine recommendations to enjoy with family and friends this winter.

Sustainability

In 2022, Laithwaites saw itself doubling down on sustainability, with the aim of halving its carbon footprint by 2030. It committed to increase the number of UK-bottled wines in its range to help cut down on CO2 emissions from shipping glass bottles – shipping in bulk in large ‘bags’ drastically reduces the weight of the same volume of wine.

Other examples of the company’s efforts to improve its sustainability credentials included the release of the second wine in its ‘W/O’ range, an organic Lucido (better known as Catarratto) from Sicily. Bottled in ‘wild’ (100% recycled) glass and corked without a plastic capsule, it featured a fully biodegradable label made using a single colour printing process on environmentally friendly pulp. Information on the wine is accessed via a QR code.

In September 2023, Direct Wines (owner of UK retail arms Laithwaites Wine and Averys) was announced as Decanter’s Green Champion, thanks to its ‘comprehensive’ action plan across many aspects of the business, from packaging to transport, training and biodiversity.

From strength to strength

Over the last few years, the range seems to have gone from strength to strength, and I’ve noticed a general uptick in quality. In 2023, it’s still easy to find over-oaked wines, but there is a far greater variety that not only covers the classics – such as Bernard Moreau’s Bourgogne Rouge – but also does a great job of introducing customers to weird, wonderful and off the beaten track wines. Two such examples I’ve recommended below are Tommasone’s Biancolella from the island of Ischia, and Kutjevo’s De Gotho Graševina from Croatia.

Most of the samples I tasted from the summer 2023 range were between £10 and £20, and there’s plenty to enjoy, but – a word of caution – quality is a lot more variable when you dip below £10.

Laithwaites wines are predominantly sold online and via wine clubs, but the retailer also has a smattering of stores around the south of the UK, including in London, Beaconsfield, Gloucester, Reading, Banbury and Windsor.

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This winter, Asda has again placed a focus on value for money but also seasonally appropriate wines. You’ll find rich whites and warming reds on the shelves, as well as a trio of new grower Champagnes – Veuve Olivier ‘Secret de Cave’ NV is included in the winter recommendations, below.

In addition, two new 2014 vintage Champagnes (below) impressed, along with the always-reliable Bollinger.

From Asda’s range of still wines, I was most impressed by the Extra Special Languedoc Blanc (vibrant, zesty stone fruits) and Perrin et Fils’ Les Cardinaux Rouge (peppery red and black fruits) from the Rhône.

There’s some serious value to be had in Asda’s ‘Extra Special’ own-label range, but if you can push the budget a little higher it’s definitely worth trading up in most cases.

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Waitrose holds two press tastings every year, one in the spring and one in the autumn, to showcase new lines, new vintages and new innovations. The autumn 2023 tasting included 42 entirely new lines and 31 new vintages of existing lines.

In Decanter’s 2023 Retailer Awards, Waitrose was once again runner-up in the Supermarket of the Year category, just pipped at the post by Marks & Spencer. It was also runner-up in the England & Wales Specialist Retailer of the Year category, as it does great work for English and Welsh wine by offering a diverse selection from these areas.

The supermarket’s buyers have added some fantastic new choices for the festive season, with a wide selection from classic regions such as Bordeaux, Rhône and across Italy, as well as a smattering of more esoteric examples or little-known wine regions.

A period of warmth and sunshine into September meant that Waitrose’s red wine sales were slower than expected for this time of year as shoppers ‘were trading into rosé for longer,’ says Waitrose wine buyer Poppy de Courcy-Wheeler. However with the autumnal weather returning, Waitrose now has some excellent choices of fuller-bodied reds and richer whites on offer.

Fuller styles for winter

The stylistic melting pot of the south of France has much to offer and a particular highlight from the tasting was the Waitrose, Loved & Found Carignan Blanc, and de Courcy-Wheeler says ‘this is the sort of parcel which to me is really exciting, and I would like to do more of these style projects’.

Fuller-bodied, more opulent whites are a great pick for chillier weather and hearty food, so the Les Vins de Vienne, St-Péray – a Marsanne/Roussanne blend whose concentrated and creamy notes of peach and honeysuckle are balanced by nutty complexity – is a top choice.

The supermarket has brought in a number of wines especially for the festive period, hitting the nail on the head with the Bordeaux parcel this year: at £15.99, the Château Liversan, Haut-Médoc 2015 is the one to buy, with its ripe cassis fruit well balanced with its tertiary characters. Not only that, it is also included in the 1o at £10 selection, meaning shoppers will be able to snap it up for just £10 a bottle when the promotion starts.

A few other strong classics would make snazzy additions to the dinner table this Christmas, such as the Domaine Chatelain, Pouilly-Fumé 2022, whose bright aromatics and weighty palate make it a great food wine, ‘which feels appropriate for the time of year,’ says Waitrose wine buyer Imogen Bowen-Davies

Waitrose’s full wine range hasn’t grown, but the new lines and new vintages have filled out areas that might otherwise have been gaps. As a result, ‘what we have done over the last year, and will continue to do a little bit, is just slim down the range’, says Jamie Matthewson, wine trading manager at the retailer. At the same time, the team is also looking to ‘make the fine wine range more fine’, he says.

The place to look for more esoteric wines, older vintages or something a bit more niche is Waitrose Cellar, which does list wines that are not available in any of the shops.

Waitrose’s Loved & Found range remains a source of interesting and great value wines from lesser-known grape varieties, well worth discovering. The ever-changing range currently includes an exotically aromatic Zibibbo white from Sicily (£8.99), ideal to pair with spicy dishes.

Waitrose has plans to expand its Blueprint and No 1 ranges next year, aiming to bring good quality, lighter alcohol wine from more unknown regions under the umbrella of these reliable ranges, for example Eastern Europe, Greece and Portugal which are all growing in popularity with the retailer’s customers.

The ethical consumer

Waitrose places real importance on sustainability. It continues to move more and more of its range from small glass bottles to cans, saving 320 tonnes of glass per year from its supply chain. According to Matthewson, this category continues to grow, as does bag-in-box, thanks to the quality of the wine that can now be found in this packaging. He says that there’s a different generation of people who don’t see the format as anything other than simply packaging.

It has also recently introduced capsule-less bottles, particularly to the Loved & Found range. It is the first UK supermarket to remove plastic and foil sleeves from the bottle necks, in a bid to cut unnecessary packaging, and it estimates that it will cut the amount of packaging used by half a tonne annually.

Waitrose is also invested in reducing the weight of its wine bottles and has committed to reduce the average bottle weight across the range for 75cl to 420g by the end of 2026.

Waitrose & Partners: top buys this autumn

The recommendations that follow are a mix of new wines and new vintages tasted by Natalie Earl in October 2023 at the Waitrose Autumn 2023 press tasting in London, and wines tasted by the Decanter tastings team at previous press tastings that are still available. All bottle prices are correct at time of publication. Wines are grouped by style and ordered by score, in descending order. 

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In my opinion Sherry is the single-most underrated style of wine from Spain. Even among wine lovers it suffers from misconceptions about taste (‘It’s too sweet!’), how to serve it (‘In a tiny glass from your granny’s cupboard?’) and strength (‘It’s fortified: is it as strong as a spirit?’).

But as any Sherry aficionado will tell you, this style of wine is as nuanced, enjoyable and complex as any fine wine from Spain. In fact it isn’t even a single style – but we’ll come to that later…

Sherry comes from Southern Spain, in the so-called ‘Golden Triangle’ of vineyards that lie between the towns of Jerez, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. Sherries are fortified wines, meaning that a small amount of grape spirit (brandy) is added to them, after fermentation, to give them greater longevity and stability.

What is Sherry?

Sherry is an aged white wine that’s matured by being passed through a series of 600-litre barrels, in a system known as a solera. The solera system allows for fractional blending of the wines. The barrels in a solera are arranged in different tiers or groups, called criaderas, according to their age.

Barrels in a Sherry solera at Bodegas Hidalgo in Sanlúcar de Barrameda Credit: Julie Sheppard

The oldest criadera holds wines that are ready to be bottled. When wine is removed from a barrel for bottling, that barrel will then be topped up with an equal amount of wine from the first criadera, which holds the youngest wines.

The first criadera will be topped up from the second criadera; the second from the third; and so on. This means that any Sherry will be a blend from different years.

Where you see an age statement on a label, such as 40 years, this will be an approximate average age. The blend will certainly contain wines much older than 40 years, but also some younger.

The Sherry styles

There are two broad styles of Sherry. The first is known as ‘biological’ and refers to wines that are aged under a thick layer of yeasts, called the flor. This flor prevents the wine from being exposed to oxygen. But it also interacts with the wine, eating sugars and other chemical compounds, and producing acetaldehydes, which give Sherry its distinctive ripe apple aroma.

The second broad style of Sherry is ‘oxidative’. These wines are aged without their layer of flor, so in contact with oxygen. Oxidative ageing gives Sherries a deeper colour and a complex nutty character.

Within these two broad types, the Sherry category is then broken down further into distinctive styles, depending on the exact method of ageing.

Palomino grapes in a vineyard of chalky albariza soil in Jerez Credit: Julie Sheppard

Six Sherry styles to know

Fino is made from the white Palomino grape (see above) and fortified soon after fermentation to 15% abv. It is then aged under flor in a solera, for a minimum of two years. The resulting style of Sherry is fresh, pungently aromatic and very dry.

Manzanilla is initially made in the same way as fino. The difference is that it has to be aged in a solera in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Here the humid sea air encourages a denser layer of flor. Similar in taste profile to a fino though the sea adds a salty character to this delicate wine.

Amontillado starts life as a fino before undergoing further ageing without its protective layer of flor. For some Sherry lovers Amontillado offers the best of both worlds, combining the freshness of fino with more evolved textural, nutty and creamy notes.

Oloroso Full is is aged oxidatively (without its blanket of flor) producing a Sherry that’s full-bodied, relatively high in alcohol and packed with flavours. Olorosos are dry and savoury, but they can seem to show a hint of sweetness thanks to the ageing process.

Palo Cortado is one of the rarest Sherry styles, which is a product of natural deficiencies in the flor layer. Traditionally it begins life as a fino, but casks that fail to develop a complete covering of flor are fortified to 17-18% abv, then aged oxidatively like an oloroso. In style, palo cortado combines amontillado’s aromatics with the fuller structure of an oloroso. The results can be buttery and nutty, with a full body, dried fruits and a tang of salinity.

Pedro Ximénez or PX, as it’s also known, is an indulgently sweet dessert wine. Thick, luscious and syrupy, with flavours of Christmas pudding, it’s an after-dinner treat to be paired with chocolate, coffee or cheese. Or simply pour it over ice cream for a decadent dessert.

Pair PX Sherry with cheese, chocolate and desserts

How to store Sherry

When a Sherry is bottled, it’s ready to drink. But it can be kept for future consumption. Fino and manzanilla can be kept in a sealed bottle for up to 18 months after purchase. Amontillado, oloroso and palo cortado for up to 36 months. And PX for up to two years.

Like other wines, unopened bottles of Sherry should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place. But unlike other wines they should be stored upright in order to minimise oxidation via contact with the cork.

Once you have opened a bottle of Sherry, it will keep for longer than a bottle of regular wine because it’s been fortified with spirit. But as with any wine, it will start to deteriorate once it has been opened, so reseal the bottle and keep it in the fridge.

Opened bottles of fino and manzanilla will keep in the fridge for a week. Amontillado and palo cortado for up to three weeks. Oloroso will last for up to six weeks. And PX for up to two months.

How to serve Sherry

Always serve Sherry chilled. Enjoy fino and manzanilla at 5-7°C. Amontillado, oloroso and palo cortado should be served at 12-14°C and PX at 14°C .

Finally, Sherry is a white wine, so serve it in a wine glass – particularly if you are drinking it with food. In fact Sherry is one of the most food-friendly wines out there, as well as being a great aperitif (fino and manzanilla) or dessert wine (PX).

Best Sherries to try

This selection of bottles covers the six styles mentioned above, with Sherries to suit every palate and pocket. Discover top-scoring expressions from leading producers such as Bodegas Barbadillo, Lustau and Hidalgo. Alongside some great value own-label bottles from supermarkets and specialist merchants, with prices starting from as little as £4.99 for Aldi’s Specially Selected Pedro Ximénez. Proof that Sherry is brilliant value for money!

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The post Best Sherries: Top bottles to try appeared first on Decanter.

It’s no secret that when it comes to finding quality wines with complexity and character at affordable price points, Languedoc is ripe for the picking.

Value isn’t its only calling card, but it is one of the main reasons Languedoc remains so exciting – you can discover new wine styles and experiment with grape varieties you’ve never tried before all without breaking the bank.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the 10 best value picks from the Languedoc report 2023

See the Languedoc report 2023 homepage

Individual appellation analysis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | La Clape | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

Individual appellation analyis:

Limoux | Corbières & Minervois | La Clape | St-Chinian | Faugères | Picpoul de Pinet | Terrasses du Larzac | Pic St Loup

The 10 best value picks from the Languedoc report 2023:

The wines below are listed by style then score.

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Raise your glass for the festive season with Rosé Champagne at £25.5, or Haut-Médoc claret at £14.75. The Decanter team has put together a value lineup from UK supermarket chain Co-op for the festive season, ranging from the seasonal classics to offbeat explorations. The majority of our selection is under £15.

Ten years on, the Les Pionniers Vintage Champagne 2013, by Piper-Heidsieck, impresses with its complex yeasty palate and richness on the nose.

Also from the classics league, Château Lamothe-Bergeron 2018 of the Left Bank is a reliable choice for hearty red meat feasts. Opt for sour cherry-driven Santa Vittoria’s Barolo 2018 and Villa Boscorotondo Chianti Classico 2020 for tomato-based dishes.

The Chilean Irresistible Pinot Noir 2021, from Co-op’s own private label range, is a more delicate, lighter food wine option at just £8.

Nautilus’s Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is another one of our favourites that elevates your usual ‘fragrant and crisp’ experience with this grape. Château Olivier’s Le Dauphin 2021, of Pessac-Léognan, is an excellent comparison in style, which boasts weight and spices thanks to blending partner Sémillon and oak ageing.

For those seeking something different for the dinner table, try the juicy, dark fruit-flavoured Irresistible País of Bío Bío Valley, Chile, or the rose potpourri-scented Irresistible La Courbe from Valais – the supermarket chain’s first-ever Swiss wine.

And we can always return to the solid Irresistible Pedro Ximenez Sherry for a comforting dessert alternative, or for sipping next to the fireplace.

Best Co-op wines: Our top buys for winter

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It was a welcome return to form at the Marks & Spencer autumn/winter wine tasting, which featured 124 sparkling, sweet, fortified and table wines, 42 of them new.

With sales growth, profits and the share price up, renewed vigour has extended to the retailer’s wine department, whose range (overhauled over the past few years) is now far more diverse and value-driven.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of the best Marks & Spencer buys for autumn and winter

After three years heading up this transformation of Marks & Spencer’s drinks division, Andrew Shaw is stepping down at the end of October, happy that the wider team, including winebuyers Dror Nativ, Sue Daniels and Belinda Kleinig, have an improved range to trade.

And the transformation has not gone unnoticed, with Marks & Spencer winning Supermarket of the Year at the 2023 Decanter Retailer Awards for the first time since 2016 – something the outgoing Shaw was especially proud of. ‘We were ecstatic to win Decanter Supermarket of the Year – it’s an endorsement of the positive steps we have taken on the range, the in-store experience and our reputation.’

The autumn/winter tasting welcomed the new 12-strong Expressions range: single-varietal wines from well-known regions but made from less-familiar grapes. While it is a good line-up in the main, starting from just £7, the premise seems very similar to that of the Found range which showcases ‘unexpected and undiscovered varieties’. Indeed, many popular Found wines are now repackaged under an Expressions label, such as the excellent Ribolla Gialla from Italy (£7).

It is just one of the great-value Italian whites in this new range (there are 11 new Italian whites in all), which also include the Roero Arneis, Falanghina and Pecorino (£9 each). The Expressions reds are less successful.

Budget and spalsh-out buys

More than half of the 90 still wines in the current Marks & Spencer range are £10 and under, with nearly a third earmarked to be £8 or less ahead of Christmas. For £7, the 2022 Familia Castaño Old Vines Organic Monastrell Rosado from Yecla in Spain (now repackaged with an eye-catching label) remains a top buy, as does the 2021 Quinta de Fafide Douro Reserva (£10).

If you have a bit more to spend, the 2020 Etna Rosso from Sicily (£12) punches well above its weight and the 2022 Balfour Pinot Noir from Kent (£22) shows that England can produce top red wines too.

Champagne and sparkling wine is usually a strong point at Marks & Spencer, particularly ahead of the festive season but, of the 23 wines on show, disappointingly only four were new. We recommend the two new non-vintage English wines – Digby’s Leander Pink (£32) and Hambledon Vineyard’s Chalk Hills (£35) below.

Nothing new among the sweet and fortified wines either, however their higher sugar and alcohol contents helps preserve their vibrancy and shelf life. In addition to the 2016 L’Or du Ciron Sauternes (£14/37.5cl), Martinez Dolce Superiore Riserva Marsala (£8/37.5cl), Lustau Pedro Ximénez Sherry (£9/37.5cl) and Special Reserve Port Decanter from Taylor’s (£15/50cl) listed below, Decanter’s previous recommendations of the M&S Classics Rich Cream Sherry (£9), 5 Year Old Madeira (£12) and 10 Year Old Tawny Port (£18) remain great buys in the run up to Christmas.

Marks & Spencer wines to try this summer

Of the following 30 recommendations, 25 are wines tasted at the 2023 Autumn/Winter tasting in September and the others are from older tastings but still available. Wines are available from one or both of M&S (in store and on online) or Ocado (online only).

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As temperatures drop and the clock changes, the countdown to Christmas begins.

With almost 500 stores across the UK,  Morrisons is a major player in the supermarket sector and its value wine offering never fails to impress. Ahead of the holiday season, Morrisons is currently running a ‘buy three get 25% off‘ campaign among its ‘The Best’ wine range – the supermarket chain’s private label series that presents classic regions and grapes from around the globe at a reasonable price. For entry-level food charmers, there are also affordable options featuring familiar grape varieties at just £6.

The Decanter team has again hand-picked some of its favourites from the Morrisons autumn and winter offerings. The majority of the selection is under £20, and a third of the wines are under £10.

From the fizzy sector, the complex and creamy Champagne Charles Clément Brut NV presents an unmissable deal. The English Sparkling Wine 2010 from ‘The Best’ lineup is an excellent example of the quality potential of aged English wines – stock up while it’s available.

If you are seeking the all-time classics, our recommendations also encompass ‘The Best’ Chablis, Barolo, Rioja Reserva, Chianti Classico and Bordeaux Supérieur.

Venture into wines from the Southern Hemisphere with The Best South African Sauvignon Blanc for a tropical nose combined with a crunchy palate. A new addition to the Morrisons South Africa lineup, Capeography Co’s Cape White Blend, from the Western Cape, boasts a textured, fulfilling style. Opt for the Roodeberg Red, a multi-faceted blend driven by Cabernet and Syrah, for a sweet-spiced but elegant food wine.

The top value buy this season has to be Villa Verde’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2022. At just £6, it offers well-balanced fruits and textural interests that would work nicely with hearty red meat dishes.

To complete your festive feast, nothing rivals a comforting sweet wine. The 2018 vintage of the elegant, citrusy Botrytis Semillon and the intoxicatingly rich Pedro Ximenez from ‘The Best’ range are value choices with reliable quality.

And finally, if you are up for the celebration but don’t want the alcohol, go for the cheerful Alcohol-Free Sparkling Rosé by Kylie Minogue – a surprisingly fresh bubbly blend of wine and green tea.

The best Morrisons wines to try:

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The post The best Morrisons wines for the festive season appeared first on Decanter.

A recent tasting of wines from Sainsbury’s autumn/winter 2023 line-up included plenty of bottles that are perfect to enjoy on chilly evenings. They range from full-bodied whites and festive fizz, to food-friendly reds for winter feasts and Christmas lunch – plus Port and Sherry.

As usual, the supermarket’s own-label Taste the Difference range does a great job of covering many classic regions and styles at affordable prices, from Amarone to Argentinian Malbec. Meanwhile the Sainsbury’s Discovery Collection offers hidden gems and interesting bottles for wine lovers to explore. This more adventurous, limited-edition selection includes a versatile Italian white Verdeca from Puglia (£8.50) and a great value Minervois made by top Languedoc winemaker Jean-Claude Mas at £11 (see below for tasting notes).

‘This Minervois is Christmas in a glass!’ says head of wine buying Georgie Haughton, who chose it as one of her star buys in the new seasonal range. ‘It’s full-bodied, rich and warming, and offers a great alternative to Malbec for those customers who want to branch out.’

Stars buys

Other star picks from the Sainsbury’s buying team include Taste the Difference 10-Year-Old Tawny Port, chosen by product developer Louise Lynch. ‘This style of Port is fully matured in seasoned oak casks and over many years of ageing, the wine gradually takes on its characteristic amber “tawny” colour, slowly developing the complex mellow flavours and the smooth luscious palate, which are the hallmarks of tawny Port. It is delicious with blue cheeses, fruit cake and creamy desserts like crème brûlée,’ she adds.

For me, the French and Italian ranges are particularly strong this year. Taste the Difference Beaujolais Supérieur 2022 hugely over-delivers for its £11 price tag. Pricier, but still good value are Taste the Difference Amarone 2020 (£20) and newcomer Piccini Badia al Colle Brunello di Montalcino 2018 (£26) – both hearty winter reds.

Sainsbury’s is also taking on budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl with its value wines. Look out for Taste the Difference Zurriago Malbec 2022, made for Sainsbury’s by Argento – a steal at £7. Another wallet-friendly Argentinian red is Trapiche’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (£8.50).

Sparkling and lower alcohol

To kick off your festive celebrations, Sainsbury’s sparkling selection roams from organic Prosecco and Champagne to New World fizzes from England and South Africa. If you want a wallet-friendly alternative to Champagne, seek out regional French crémants – the two bottles recommended below, from Bordeaux and Burgundy, are really enjoyable good value options.

For anyone watching their alcohol intake, I’ve also picked two wines that have a naturally lower abv – without sacrificing flavour. White wine drinkers can choose Elia Côtes de Gascogne 2022 from Gascony in France (£8.50) at 9% abv. While fans of reds should buy Italian Taste the Difference Marzemino Trentino 2021 (£9.75),  a lighter red at 12%.

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Best Sainsbury’s wines

Tasting notes come from the Sainsbury’s autumn/winter 2023 tasting. Wines from older tastings have also been included if the wine is still available in store or online. All bottle prices are correct at time of publication. 

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The transition into autumn calls for a good review of which bottles to open. Pale rosé have well and truly given way to their fuller-bodied counterparts, reds come back into their own and richer whites claim a place at the table. Or you might prefer to switch things up with some cocktails perfect for autumn evenings.

Fittingly-coloured orange wines are also excellent choices, at once refreshing and generous, for these moody days when sun and rain might be out within the same hour. And as the season’s produce starts to fill market stalls these amber-hued wines will give you perfect and versatile food pairing options.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of 12 orange wines to try this autumn

What is orange wine?

An orange wine is made by fermenting white grapes in contact with the skins, hence why they are also called skin-contact wines.

Most commercially available white wine, on the other hand, is produced by separating the juice from the skins immediately or shortly after the grapes arrive at the cellar, thus preventing the extraction of colour.

As with some rosé wine production, the length of maceration (where skins are left in contact with the juice before, during and after fermentation) determines the colour intensity of the final wine. Temperature plus the vessel used for fermentation and/or ageing also have a role to play.

In addition to colour, maceration extracts tannins and flavours compounds, which is why orange wines tend to have a distinct textural character and great food pairing appeal.

It would be tempting to say that orange wines are made by applying red winemaking techniques to white varieties.

The fact is that these techniques were historically used for all grapes, red and white, namely because these were often grown and fermented together. The concept of single-varietal wine and mono-varietal planting is somewhat recent in the history of wine.

And even when varieties started being planted and vinified separately, wines were rarely light and clear in the glass. Lightly hued white wines are a modern invention, only made possible by modern winemaking techniques such as cold settling, sterile filtration, temperature control and routine use of sulphites. Wines used to have a slight hue due to a degree of oxidation.

From lost tradition to millennial trend

Perceived as less sophisticated, orange wines lost territory to modern styles. They survived in regions where the wine sector struggled to establish itself as an industry, such as the Balkans, and at the hands of mavericks such as Josko Gravner and Stanko Radikon.

Orange wines were rediscovered at the beginning of the 21st century and adopted by the ‘natural wine movement’ as its flagship style – skin-contact was propelled to the international stage as a beacon of resistance to commercially-made wines.

Countries like Georgia and Slovenia, where the style had remained firmly in production throughout the 20th century, found a new, enthusiastic audience and attracted new producers.

Winemakers in Portugal, Spain and Italy started researching their own regions’ historical iterations of orange wine, while adventurous ‘new world’ winemakers also embraced orange styles.

The result was a fresh understanding of the history of many wine regions, of the expressive potential of white varieties, and of how wine styles need to be seen in a spectrum rather than classified as ‘black (or rather red) or white’.

As Simon Woolf says in his orange wine overview, it’s important not to confuse orange wine and natural wine: the latter is a style while the former is a technique. It follows that not all orange wine is necessarily natural, and vice versa – i.e. skin-contact wine is not necessarily ‘funky’ or low intervention.

While texture and complexity are attributes of all (good) amber-hued wines, they can also be extremely refined. You will find a range of expressions, and both adventurous and classical wine lovers will surely find an orange wine they love. This style is not as divisive as one might think.

Tannins, flavour, texture

What makes orange wines special? It’s their aromatic complexity, structure and textural character, at the crossroads of a red and white wine, playfully stimulating and challenging the senses.

Imagine the freshness and taught acidity of a white wine entwined with the tannic grip and suppleness of a red. What could possibly be better to pair with food?

Many orange wines are perfect companions for cheese platters, smoked fish, root vegetable-based dishes and roasted meat. They usually have a herbal, savoury edge that brings a meal’s flavours to life, supported by gentle tannins and firm acidity.

Best enjoyed only slightly chilled, skin-contact wines have a fresh vibrancy but also a sense of textural warmth, perfect to ease yourself into autumn’s mood.

Great orange wines for autumn – 12 to try:

The wines below have been tasted and rated by Decanter’s editorial team and contributors.

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Supermarket Aldi showcased 147 sparkling and still wines in its 2023 UK autumn/winter collection, 65 of them new.

With prices starting from £3.45 for the Spanish non-vintage Baron St Jean Blanc (made from the neutral Airen grape) to £21.99 for the Veuve Monsigny, Premier Cru Champagne NV (which Decanter recommended in October 2022 and is still available), the focus of this German supermarket chain, as always, is on affordable quality.

Scroll down for scores and tasting notes of the best Aldi wines

As with all UK supermarket buyers, Josh Heley (still wines) and Andy Maxwell (sparkling and fortified wines), have the difficult task of delivering a versatile wine range amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

August’s 20% increase in duty (44p per 75cl bottle on wines between 11.5% and 14.5% alcohol to £2.67) has played its part. For example, the blue-label 2022 Buenas Vides, Specially Selected Argentinian Malbec has increased by £1 since Decanter last tasted it in March – from £6.29 to £7.29.

However this and the even better 2021 Buenas Vides, Specially Selected Argentinian Malbec (confusingly with the same name, but a black label) are still two of the best buys in the Aldi range. The black-label version has remained at £8.99 too, so represents even better value by comparison.

Despite the buyers’ drive ‘to deliver new and exciting products’, somewhat disappointingly some of the most recommendable wines from this tasting were not new listings to the Aldi range – or even new vintages of existing wines in the core range – but the same vintage of the same wine which Decanter has recommended following portfolio tastings in April 2023 and October 2022.

The best and the rest on the shelf

Along with the aforementioned black-label Specially Selected Argentinian Malbec and Premier Cru Champagne, these 10 Decanter recommended wines are still available and worth seeking out (listed below, under the 20 new recommendations):

• Costellore, Specially Selected Extra Dry Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore NV
• Filos Estate Greek Chardonnay 2022
• Wrong Turn, South African Fernão Pires 2022
• Chassaux et Fils, Specially Selected Picpoul de Pinet 2022
• Kooliburra, Specially Selected Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2022
• Mimo Moutinho, Dão Touriga Nacional 2021
• Bekaa, Specially Selected Lebanese Red 2020
• Chassaux et Fils, Specially Selected Cairanne 2021
• Cambalala, Specially Selected South African Merlot 2021
• Specially Selected Pedro Ximénez Sherry

Wines still on shelves that Decanter has previously recommended but which are now looking tired include: Chassaux et Fils, Specially Selected Ventoux Rosé 2022; Freeman’s Bay, Specially Selected Riesling Blush 2022 and Beachfront, Specially Selected Californian Pinot Noir 2021.

While its continuing success against high street competitors proves Aldi knows its market, unnecessarily high residual sugar – perceived or actual – in a large number of new and core wines mask their varietal and/or regional typicity, particularly at lower price points and among the sparkling wines.

On a positive note – though you’ll have to wait until they’re on shelves in November – some familiar favourites have returned for the festive season. Highlights are the Bowler & Brolly, Winemaster’s Lot English Sparkling Wine and the Chassaux et Fils, Specially Selected Crémant de Bordeaux Rosé, both non vintage, as well as Chassaux et Fils’ Specially Selected Sauternes 2019 and Fletcher’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port.

In January 2023, Aldi made the controversial decision to stop all of its online operations. This means its current range is only available to purchase at one of its 990 UK stores, 200 of which offer a click-and-collect service.

Aldi wines: Decanter’s pick of the best buys

Of the following 30 recommendations, 20 are wines tasted at the 2023 Autumn/Winter tasting in September and the others are from older tastings but still available in store.

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The post Aldi wines: Best buys for autumn and winter appeared first on Decanter.

Online wine retailer Naked Wines has made significant steps in improving and developing its range over the last few years. Buying director Matt Smith and wine director Ray O’Connor MW have continued to plug what they saw as key gaps in the range across various classical regions, as they now look to introduce a broader set of wine styles to fulfil the tastes of new consumers.

The company uses a crowd-funding business model to fund production costs for winemakers across the world, providing its members, dubbed ‘Angels’, with exclusively made wine directly from its producers.

Scroll down for the top 30 buys from Naked Wines this autumn

Reports of slowing sales and £15m loss

Despite an increase in revenue and subscriber numbers during the pandemic (which shot from 260,000 to 350,000 in the UK), current UK membership numbers now sit around 300,000.

‘We haven’t been aggressively acquiring new customers recently,’ said Smith, ‘we’ve been focusing on providing an excellent experience to our members. Driving innovation, finding quality wines and spirits, broadening the range to a degree, plugging some gaps, and keeping things really interesting [for members].’

The delayed release of the company’s results for the financial year up to April 2023, published on 19 September 2023, shows a £15m loss, despite total sales being up 1% year on year.

The results also show that the company has had a ‘slower than expected’ start to the new trading year, and share prices have dropped significantly.

Founder and former CEO Rowan Gormley, who stepped down at the start of 2020, returned in July 2023 as the company’s new chairman. In a letter to shareholders, he said that trading conditions are tough. ‘High inflation, higher taxes on alcohol and falling disposable incomes has put pressure on sales and costs,’ he said.

Unavoidable price increases

Despite the company absorbing costs amid rising inflation and increases across the supply chain, the latest UK duty rise has not left the company unscathed.

‘We’ve tried to offset as much as possible, but when the new duty came in [in August 2023] – there’s nothing you can do,’ said O’Connor, ‘it’s a new landscape’.

Retail prices per bottle have therefore had to increase, which is being seen widely across the sector.

Tasting the range

Despite these price rises, there are still many wines to be found that offer excellent value for money.

Over the last year Naked Wines has ‘made good progress in filling in gaps in the range,’ said Smith, bringing in 19 new Bordeaux wines, as well as classical styles from the northern Rhône and Alsace.

The retailer has long been strong in wines from eastern Europe, and O’Connor said ‘Angels ask us a lot for wines from Croatia’. Check out the Malvazija Istarska from Kabola, the retailer’s new producer from the Istria region.

Highlighting under-the-radar regions is one of Naked Wines’ calling cards, and it has brought in two delicious new wines from the Custoza appellation within Italy’s Veneto region. For under £20, the Tenuta Monte Fitti Custoza Superiore has upfront aromas of ripe fleshy peach, apricot kernel, marzipan and preserved lemon and is easy to drink, succulent and lip smacking. Or for a little more money the Monte del Frà Sexaginta Custoza Superiore offers a whole other level of power and luxury, showing a real Burgundian elegance and refinement.

Chile has fared particularly well in the recommendations below, with one white and two reds to seek out. ‘It’s Chile but not as you know it,’ said O’Connor, and he’s right; all three showcase single grape varieties and are excellent value, with a lot of complexity and concentration on show.

Decanter Retailer Awards: Runner Up

It has been announced today that Naked Wines is the runner up in the Best Large Online Retailer category at the Decanter Retailer Awards 2023.

See more about the Decanter Retailer Awards here.

Pricing structure

Naked Wines displays both a member price and a non-member price for most wines on its website. All wines are benchmarked and tasted blind against similar wines available on the UK market. The non-member price is therefore determined by the retail price of these comparable wines – what Naked deems the market price.

This can range from anywhere between 0% and 60% more than the Angel’s price, depending on what comparable wines they have been benchmarked against. Some wines on the site are ‘Angel exclusives’ and can only be purchased as a member.

Being a member also provides a platform for customers to engage and converse directly with the winemakers themselves. Through its online wine community, members rate wines and interact with winemakers, and their feedback ultimately decides whether Naked continues to sell the wines.

See tasting notes and scores for 30 top finds from Naked Wines:

The selection below includes both member-exclusive wines and wines available to non-members. Where the wine is exclusive to members, this has been indicated in the tasting note.

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Top Roussillon wines: 15 to discover

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‘Everyone deserves a perfect partner, as a nice bottle of wine deserves the right glass,’ says Marcello Neri, head sommelier of Kensington’s Launceston Place restaurant. However, unlike spectacles, where one pair ordinarily suffices to bring a multitude of subjects into sharper view, humanity has managed to further complicate the subject of wine by designing a dizzying array of glasses to enhance it, whether they flatter specific varietals, styles or bottles at a particular stage of maturity.

In this guide, you will find such specialised tools as well as, for those on a budget, with limited storage, or incurable indecision, excellent one size fits all options. However, common to every glass included is the tapering, tulip shaped nature of the generously proportioned bowl which, true wine lovers unite on, helps build and nurture aromas and, when swirled, keeps the liquid within from spilling out.

Such a form also applies too to glasses for sparkling wines. As Nick Baker, founder of merchant, The Finest Bubble, advises, ‘remember, the Champagne flute can be beautiful if you want to watch bubbles, but it is hopeless if you want to enjoy the aromatics hence we recommend people throw them away!’ Stephen Duckett, co-founder of England’s Hundred Hills sparkling wine estate agrees. ‘Designed to mask poor quality Champagnes, flutes were never expected to become ubiquitous, but cheap Champagnes and Prosecco accelerated the need for them in modern times.’

And best, too, to avoid the saucer-shaped coupes. These, say Charles Goemaere, executive director of Comité Champagne, were popular in the 1920s for their stable base when carried on trays. ‘However, their shape rapidly dissipates Champagne bubbles.’

Best luxury all-rounder for sparkling wines:

Lehmann Grand Champagne Mouth-Blown Ultralight ((£94 for two, The Finest Bubble)

Both the shapely Lehmann Grand Champagne and subsequent Synergie are informed by self-described ‘oenoconsultant’, Philippe Jamesse, a sommelier in Champagne for 30 years. Of the Grand Champagne, while its machine-made counterpart is ‘okay’ says Nick Baker, the mouth-blown version, which takes a minimum of six master glassmakers to manufacture one item, is ‘exquisite’. These ‘offer a lightness and delicacy without being too fragile.’ The Grand Champagne’s chief attribute: to bring forward the reductive elements in a sparkling wine and help suppress oxidation.

Best for prestige sparkling rosé and saignée:

Lehmann Jamesse Synergie 60cl Mouth-Blown Ultralight (£88 for two, The Finest Bubble)

‘There is rarely much to be gained going any larger, though prestige cuvée rose will nearly always benefit from a larger bowl,’ notes Baker, as seen in these more Burgundy-shaped glasses which coax forth red fruit, including those from the rarer, redder saignée style of fizz.

Best affordable all-rounder for sparkling wines:

Riedel Veritas (£43.95 for two, The Riedel Shop)

According to chairman of the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships, Tom Stevenson, the machine-made Riedel Veritas is a vessel which adeptly assists in ‘swirling, nosing and assessing’ hence its use in the competition. It also happens to be the ‘go-to fizz glass’ for Riedel’s MD, Stephen McGraw when he is enjoying English sparkling wines at home.

Best for younger whites:

NUDE Stem Zero Master (£49 apiece, Nunido)

At once wafer-thin and lightweight, this Turkish designed, handmade glass brings the drinker in closer contact with the liquid. It is debatably less showy than a Zalto Universal and remarkably tougher than its looks suggest thanks to the ‘Ion Shielding Technology’ deployed in which, according to the manufacturer, ‘larger ions replace smaller ions in the glass surface, suppressing the micro-fissures that cause glass to crack.’

Best for more developed whites:

NUDE Stem Zero Full Bodied White Wine (£48 apiece, Bonbinate)

With a broad diameter of 125mm, this large but lightweight, again, handmade glass encourages the wine to interact with the air while notes of oak and the backbone of acidity, are simultaneously nursed.

Best all-rounder:

Jancis Robinson x Richard Brendon (£90 for two, The Finest Bubble)

A graduate of Kingston School of Art, Richard Brendon often looks to the past, as per his ‘1650’ collection of just 24 seal impressed decanters crafted by classical British glassblower, Simon Moore. In contrast, his collaboration with Master of Wine, Jancis Robinson OBE is much more contemporary. Conveniently intended to degust every style of wine imaginable, their wine glass holds one sixth of a bottle at its widest point, tapering to an undistracting, thin rim. For Bastille Day, the English-designed collection, which is handmade in Slovenia, will be filled with sparkling wine from Stephen Duckett’s aforementioned English estate, Hundred Hills of Henley, as the toast to strengthen an Anglo-French entente at Raymond Blanc OBE’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.

Best for younger reds:

NUDE Ghost Zero Belly (€98 apiece, NUDE)

Our third entry from NUDE is the most visually striking so far, evoking in shape the Mr. Greedy protagonist immortalised by children’s author, Roger Hargreaves. The voluptuous, handmade Ghost Zero Belly captures the wine in its ‘belly’ and then vigorously funnels the ensuing aromas along the chimney. Tactile, it is also a good glass to ‘hug’ to bring cool wines to a warmer temperature, if required.

Best for more developed reds:

L’Esthete (£237 per six, Wineware)

Antoine Schvartz founded the Sydonios company ‘from a piece of paper’ five years ago. ‘We started with one year of scientific research involving more than 100 wine professionals, reading all the papers written on the impact glass has on wine tasting, meeting the best winemakers from each French appellation.’ The resulting handmade L’Esthète glass, which sleekly tames tannins in young wine and coaxes nuances from older renditions without exposing the wine to a shocking amount of air, is now used by ‘around 80% of the Grand Cru Classes in Bordeaux,’ says Schvartz. While these are currently mouth-blown in Bohemia, Schvartz is due to open a factory in France later this year. Resourcefully, he intends to release ‘the Unperfect glass’ in September, ‘which has a bubble or more at a discount of around 35%.’

Best varietal specific glass:

Riedel Winewings Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo (£29 apiece, Riedel)

Although arguably the least visually appealing entry in this guide given its vast, wobbly helmet-like look, our second entry from Riedel comes from the machine-made Winewings range. This is so-called after the way the broad base of its bowl extends like an aircraft’s wings. The Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo glass however positively transforms the sometimes-shy Pinot Noir or Nebbiolo, especially when the latter is youthfully tannic.

Best for sheer luxury:

Lalique 100 Points Burgundy (£140 apiece, Lalique)

‘Once a customer has used a Lalique wine glass, they always come back and buy into the wider collection,’ says Frederick Fischer, Managing Director of Lalique UK. The 100 points collection  was designed in collaboration with the wine personality, James Suckling, and takes pride of place at the freshly Michelin-starred Lalique restaurant at Scotland’s Glenturret distillery. Lalique creative director, Marc Larminaux says it can take as many as 20 workers five days to perfect each glass. While the 100 points collection runs to 15 designs, characterised by a tactile, frosted, pillar-like stem, I particularly rate the Burgundy glass which lifts Syrah as well its raison d’être, Pinot Noir.

Best for value:

Villeroy & Boch Manufacture Rock (41.52 for four, Dawsons Department Store)

At around £10 per glass if you shop carefully, this machine-made range is designed to dovetail with a corresponding matt finish porcelain range which evokes slate in its look. The white wine version is a good all-rounder for still wines, and has an interesting, gently diffusing black stem leading to an ample bowl.

Best for city dwellers:

Waterford Elegance Stemless (£65 for two, Waterford)

Ireland based Waterford is today owned by Finland’s oldest company, Fiskars (1649), which is famous for its sturdy, practical, orange handled scissors. Also rational in design are these hand-made stemless glasses made to a new crystal formula, which feel generations away from Waterford’s much imitated, deeply etched Lismore design. At only 11 centimetres high, these stemless glasses are easy to store in the tightest of cupboards, while the dimple in the base provides a grip point and aesthetically evokes the punt of a wine bottle. Despite their apparent informality, the Slovenian crystal brings a sense of occasion to a daily pour.

Best for blind tasting:

Spiegelau Authentis Blind Tasting (£71.40 for four, RoyalDesign)

Now owned by Riedel, Germany’s Spiegelau brand dates to at least 1521. Sprayed black to dramatic effect, these shiny, machine-made glasses are intended to wholly strip a wine of its visual cues. The results can be humbling if it transpires a so-called professional cannot tell their Riesling from a rosé.

Best for sweet wines:

Rochini Oekks Digestif (€216 per six, Rochini)

This precise, tall, hand-made glass, which works for sweeter styles of wine, including the full canon of sherry, is part of a range of ‘feather-light hand-blown eye-catchers’ according to Austrian designer, Hannes Tiefenthaler. All glasses in the core range adhere to a harmonious height. ‘Every glass has the same height leading to a well-balanced feeling on the table,’ adds Tiefenthaler. Quirkily and effectively, at Farringdon’s classy Persian restaurant, The Drunken Butler, owner, Yuma Hashemi delights in serving his signature antique Negronis, free from ice, in these glasses.

Best for a picnic:

YETI Rambler wine tumbler (£25 apiece, Yeti)

Adhering to their motto, ‘built for the wild’, the Texas based outdoor living specialist, YETI, has created a strong, puncture and rust resistant, machine-made stainless-steel vessel for wine with an optional lid. And being double wall insulated, no condensation will form, even if you like your juice as cool as these revolutionary vials look.

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