The selection below is made not on the basis that there should be a politically acceptable representation of different countries, styles and grape varieties but simply on the basis of what strikes me currently as great value in view of how it tastes (with the possible exception of the last wine).
Looking it over, I see a rather disproportionate number of wines from Majestic, Tesco, Waitrose and The Wine Society. But that is not surprising because they have the size, or structure in the case of the co-operative Wine Society, to enable them to keep prices low. They also have some of the best buying teams in the business. Interestingly, to me anyway, there seems to be a preponderance of South African wines and Chilean Chardonnay, plus, to my surprise, some bargains from California. Buying in quantity often saves money, especially at Majestic, which rewards with reduced prices those who buy any mix of six bottles.
Dom des Deux Vallées, Equilibriste Chenin Blanc 2023 Vin de France 11%
What a bargain! Grown on schist in the Loire Valley and fermented with ambient, not inoculated, yeast. Early-drinking palate-reviver.
£6.99 (reduced from £8.99 in December) Waitrose
Cramele Recaș, Sorcova Fetească Regală 2023 Romania 11%
From a 1998 planting of Romania’s fragrant indigenous grape variety. Usefully low alcohol for drinking without food.
£8.99 Waitrose
Cébazan co-operative, La Crème de la Crème Chardonnay 2023 IGP Pays d’Oc 13.27%
A Languedoc bargain for Chardonnay lovers with very gentle oak influence for current, not future, drinking.
£9.99 Waitrose Cellar (online only)
De Martino 347 Vineyards Chardonnay 2023 Limarí 13.5%
Cool, fresh and much more exciting than the price suggests, from one of Chile’s best producers.
£10 reduced from £12 Asda
Paul Mas Sauvignon Blanc/Souvignier Gris 2023 Vin de France 12.5%
Tesco seem to be championing the disease-resistant varieties of the future such as Souvignier Gris and the Floréal they also sell. This Languedoc wine is a little richer than many Sauvignons.
£10 Tesco
Invencível, Natural Mystic 2023 Vinho Verde 11.5%
Made by Portuguese winemaker Rita Marques and Marc Kent of Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa. Much more fruit than a typical light Vinho Verde.
£10.50 The Wine Society
Reyneke, Organic Chenin Blanc 2023 Stellenbosch 13.5%
From a pioneer of organic and biodynamic viticulture in South Africa.
£10.99 Waitrose
Château d’Anglès, Classique 2023 La Clape 13.5%
Quince flavour and energy in this Languedoc seaside blend based on the scented Bourboulenc grape.
£11.50 The Wine Society
Bilbaínas, Viña Pomal Barrel Fermented 2023 Rioja 13%
I’m a sucker for a good white Rioja, based on Viura (aka Macabeo) grapes and traditional Malvasia in this case. This is a great price for a gently oaked white.
£11.99 Majestic
Howard Park, Miamup Chardonnay 2023 Margaret River 12.5%
This beautiful Western Australian wine and surf region prides itself on the sophistication of its Chardonnays (and Cabernets).
£12 Sainsbury’s, Tesco
Nals Margreid, Piccozza Pinot Bianco 2023 Alto Adige 13%
Excitingly pure, mineral, alpine wine from one of the best producers in Italy’s finest white-wine region.
£12 Tesco
Réthoré Davy, Parcelles Chardonnay 2023 IGP Val de Loire 12.5%
Complete and creamy. Nothing like white burgundy but this would make a please-all house white.
£12.65 Haynes Hanson & Clark
Martín Códax, Marieta Albariño 2023 Rías Baixas 11.5%
‘This should cost more!’ I wrote, most unusually, in my tasting note. Superior, lively, marine wine from Spain’s cool north-west corner.
£13 Tesco
Springfield Estate, Special Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Robertson 12.5%
A reliable old favourite. A refined South African.
£13 Tesco
Château Grand Moulin, Grandes Vignes 2023 Corbières 13%
Very well made Languedoc white with real refreshment.
£13.99 Majestic
Textura, Pretexto 2021 Dão 12%
Another top-class producer, this time from the region responsible for Portugal’s most Burgundian whites. Superior Encruzado and Bical grapes.
£13.80 Justerini & Brooks
Adam Who? Riesling 2023 Eden Valley 11.5%
Very pure Australian Riesling nose with a little more fruit than the norm but by no means sickly sweet. A very attractive aperitif. (JR)
£13.95 Corney & Barrow
Heaphy Hill Riesling 2023 Nelson 12.5%
Made in the north-west corner of the South Island from some of the oldest vines in the country. Just off dry and beautifully balanced.
£13.99 Waitrose
Errázuriz, Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 Aconcagua Costa 13.5%
Single-vineyard, terroir-focused wines are all the rage now. This one is made just like white burgundy and tasted rather like a fine Chablis.
£13.99 Majestic
Joostenberg, Myburgh Bros Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2023 Paarl 12.5%
A very reliable South African producer. Great value.
£14.25 Corney & Barrow
Kühling-Gillot, Quinterra feinherb Riesling 2022 Rheinhessen 11.5%
This delicious, already mature, off-dry (not sweet) German from an excellent producer deserves to cost much more.
£14.40 Justerini & Brooks
Château d’Arche 2022 Bordeaux 12.5%
Sauternes producers are finding it so difficult to sell their sweet wines that many of them are resorting to making dry wines like this from their Sémillon vines. Interesting that it’s cheaper than the Argentine version below.
£14.95 The Wine Society
Toast & Honey Viognier 2023 Lodi 13%
‘Unashamedly bold’ is the slogan of this label based in a wine region that is the source of some of California’s best-best-value grapes. Not for keeping but it really does have a hint of the May-blossom-and-salt character of Condrieu even if none of its subtlety.
£14.99 Majestic
Markus Huber, Heaven’s Realm Grüner Veltliner 2023 Traisental 13%
Pure varietal expression from vines grown on limestone, which presumably explains the zestiness.
£14.99 Waitrose Cellar
Sax, Steinmassl Riesling 2023 Kamptal 13.5%
Pure, approachable, lightly floral Austrian Riesling.
£15.95 Stone, Vine & Sun
Henri Ehrhart, Réserve Particulière Riesling 2023 Alsace 12.5%
Made by award-winning winemaker Laurence Schatz, bone dry but with a certain richness, too. Great price.
£15.99 Majestic
Concha y Toro, Marqués de Casa Concha Chardonnay 2022 Limarí 13.5%
A wine reminiscent of old-fashioned Meursault from one of Chile’s coolest wine regions.
£16 Tesco
Schloss Lieser, SL Riesling Kabinett 2017 Mosel 8.5%
Germany’s unique gift to the wine world. Featherlight, seven years old but ridiculously youthful and inexpensive.
£16.50 The Wine Society
Domaine André Bonhomme 2022 Mâcon-Villages 13.5%
At last – a white burgundy! Admittedly from the far south of the region and unoaked but very pleasing and well balanced.
£17 The Wine Society
Nativ, Vico Storto 2022 Greco di Tufo 13.5%
Italian whites can be so satisfying. This one is from 30-year-old vines in the Naples hinterland.
£17.95 Private Cellar
Hofmann Weissburgunder trocken 2022 Rheinhessen 12%
Pinot Blanc grown on limestone with a little oak influence to give it structure not oak flavour.
£17.95 Yapp
The Long Road Viognier 2023 Cape South Coast 13.5%
From South Africa’s hugely talented Samantha O’Keefe of Lismore. A signifier of the current Tesco buying team’s energy.
£18 Tesco
Villard, Le Chardonnay 2022 Casablanca 13.5%
Another fine Chilean Chardonnay from a relatively cool region and made like white burgundy. Much more drive than most white burgundies at the same price.
£18 The Wine Society
El Enemigo Semillon 2022 Mendoza 13%
Another great find from Tesco made by Catena’s revered winemaker, who says 2022 was an exceptional year for this single-vineyard wine. Dry wine from the Sauternes grape, a favourite style of mine.
£18 Tesco
Fossil Point Chardonnay 2021 Edna Valley 14%
Another relative bargain from Corneys. Pacific cooled from well south of San Francisco but not to be aged.
£18.50 Corney & Barrow
Savage, Salt River Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Western Cape 13.5%
Duncan Savage is South Africa’s Sauvignon supremo and this is great value for such precision. Much more like a Sancerre than a typical Marlborough Sauvignon.
£19.50 Berry Bros & Rudd
Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Marlborough 13%
Atypically dense, dry Marlborough Sauvignon that lasts much longer than most.
£19.95 Berry Bros & Rudd
Vincent Dampt 2022 Petit Chablis 12%
Petit Chablis often used to taste unripe. No longer – a positive climate-change effect. Truer Chablis character than in many a supermarket example.
£20.50 Corney & Barrow, £22.50 Lea & Sandeman
Makarounas Spourtiko 2023 PGI Pafos 10.5%
So much character in this bone-dry wine from an indigenous Cypriot grapevine despite the low alcohol.
£21 The Wine Society
Alheit, Hereafter Here Chenin Blanc 2022 Western Cape 13%
The Alheits are real stars of South Africa so any wine from them is of interest. This wine made from the country’s signature grape is so precise, it feels as though it had been sculpted.
£23 The Wine Society
Joey Tensley, Fundamental 2021 Central Coast 13.5%
One of Berrys’ best bargains, and California bargains have been few and far between. An unusually appetising, full-bodied Rhôneish blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne grapes.
£23 Berry Bros & Rudd
Oliver Zeter, Fumé Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Pfalz 13%
Very enjoyable German counterpart to smart white Pessac-Léognan from Bordeaux. Cheaper than most of them.
£23.90 Field & Fawcett of York, £24.50 D’Arcy Wines, £24.99 DBM Wines
Willi Schaefer, Graacher feinherb Riesling 2022 Mosel 11%
Vines are up to a century old on this family estate. Feinherb means off dry, not sweet. Excellent balance.
£24 Tanners
Rijckaert – F Rouve, Sur Les Marnes 2022 Côtes du Jura 13%
A wine made like fine burgundy but in the subalpine, fashionable Jura to the south-east of the Côte d’Or.
£24.99 Majestic
Allende Blanco 2020 Rioja 13.5%
Allende pioneered serious, broad-beamed white Rioja in the modern era and the wines, worth ageing, never disappoint. Shows the virtue of old vines.
£28.95 Berry Bros & Rudd
Eva Fricke Riesling trocken 2023 Rheingau 12%
Eva Fricke may not have a long history but to judge from the precision and consistency of her dry German Rieslings, that is no bad thing. Our most recent (enthusiastic) note is on the 2021 vintage.
£29.95 Berry Bros & Rudd
Dominio del Soto Albillo Mayor 2021 Ribera del Duero 13%
Made by Chapoutier of the Rhône. A most unusual, tense, rewarding, lightly oaked wine from this red-wine region’s great white-wine grape.
£32 FION
Verzier, Granit 2023 St-Joseph 12.5%
Really delicious oaked, certified-biodynamic northern-Rhône blend of Marsanne and Roussanne. Pungent with notes of mirabelle and peach. Quite a rich start and then a bone-dry, attractively bitter end. A very superior wine!
£32.50 Stone, Vine & Sun
Pasqua, Hey French Terza Edizione NV IGT Veneto 13.5%
Such a cheeky wine! It looks like a cartoon but in its third incarnation still expresses a powerful and delicious message: that the Italians can give French wine producers a run for their money. A smoky/honey-flavoured dry blend of the best wines from vintages 2016 to 2020. Hugely distinctive.
£35.99 Majestic
Prager, Hinter der Burg Federspiel Grüner Veltliner 2023 Wachau 13.5%
Prager is a star of Austria’s most famous dry-white-wine region on rocky, south-facing terraces above the Danube. 70-year-old vines. Fine Grüner Veltliner is a cellar candidate, too.
£41 Berry Bros & Rudd
Joseph Drouhin, Genevrières Premier Cru 2022 Meursault 13.5%
Real substance and potential here but it could be enjoyed already.
£159.20 Howard Ripley
For tasting notes, scores and suggested drinking dates, see our tasting notes database. For international stockists, see Wine-Searcher.com.
