"THE LlST" JULY 2025
My top recommendations from each of the major supermarkets and beyond.
Hello and welcome to “The List”
How I choose the wines is based on:
Systematic analysis / Value for money / Competition / Drinkability / Authenticity / Reviews and Comments / X-Factor.
"The List" is the result of hours of tastings, curation, and writing. Your support means everything to this independent journey. 🍷✨
BIG PRICE DROP Telmont, Réserve Brut NV, Champagne, France (S) sustainable fizz, brioche, citrus peel, bone dry elegance
NEW Prince Alexandre Crémant de Loire AOC, France (S) great price, fresh, good complexity
NEW Vento'z Alvarinho, Portugal (W) peach, lemon, super sipper!
NEW Château de Berne Cuvée Or Provence Rosé, France (Ro) quality producer, quality rosé, great prices
NEW Beronia Rioja Reserva, Spain (R) sweet oak meets red fruit, benchmark, good price
Waitrose Loved & Found, Mataro 2024, Australia (R) juicy, lifted, a bit wild—blue fruit and spice bomb
NEW Altano Organic Douro, Portugal (R)(V) bold red fruit, sweet spice, ripe berry richness
NEW Bouvet Ladubay Saumur Rosé Brut, France (S)(V) well balanced, great quality, great price
NEW Nero Oro Grillo Appassimento, Sicily (W)(V) spice, honeyed, flavoursome
STAR BUY - Château La Sauvageonne 'Grand Vin Blanc', AOP Languedoc, France (W) BLOODY AWESOME! creamy, rich, complex
*NEW Peyrassol 'Les Templiers' Organic Rosé 2022/23, Côtes de Provence, France (Ro)(V) elegant, light, soft red fruit
NEW Domaine des Tourelles Cuvée Pierre Brun, Lebanon (R) earthy, black fruit, unique
NEW Domini Veneti 'La Casetta' Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore, Italy (R) velvety, attractive dark fruit, wonderful balance and representation of style
TOP PICK Ramos Reserva, Alentejano, Portugal (R) tremendous, super value, black fruit in harmony
NEW Surani 'Costarossa' Primitivo di Manduria, Puglia, Italy (R) plump, attractive fruit, velvety ripe
CC = Clubcard offer
Finest 1531 Blanquette De Limoux, France CC(S)(V) beauty of a price, richness, can’t beat it!
*NEW Plaimont Saint Mont Grande Cuvee, France (W)(V) tropical, freshness, a little bit of bite
NEW Patient Cottat, The Pebble, Rosé de Loire, France CC(Ro) classy, raspberries, well balanced
NEW Kanonkop Kadette, Cape Blend, South Africa CC(R) top producer, bold black fruit, medium to full
NEW La P'tite Pierre Rouge, France CC(R) glugger, medium, easy
Journey's End Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, South Africa (R) great expression, black fruit, great value
NEW Tesco Finest 10 Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal (Fo) hint of sweetness, nutty, dried red fruit
CLEARANCE M&S Casa Leona Sauvignon Blanc, Chile (W)(V) decent party option, standard Chilean expression, middle of the road
NEW Koha Marlborough Pinot Grigio, New Zealand (W)(V) dry, good level of intensity, fresh and balanced
NEW Cotes Du Rhone Rose, France (Ro)(V) surprising, balanced, good level of soft red fruit, top pick
NEW Found Marzemino, Italy (R)(V) light to medium, attractive red fruit, soft and easy
NEW Found Feteasca Neagra, Romania (R)(V) medium to full bodied, depth + structure, plum
NEW Susana Balbo Tradicion Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina (R) ripe black fruit, good producer, good expression
NC = Nectar card offer
NEW TTD, Crémant de Limoux, France (S) apple, touch of cookie, fresher style
TTD, Chardonnay, South Africa (W)(V) excellent, buttery oak, tropical fruit
NEW TTD Grüner Veltliner, Taste the Difference, Austria NC(W)(V) super dry, stone fruits, tight
TOP PICK TTD Souvignier Gris, France NC(W)(V) wonderful, super fruit intensity, fresh
NEW Taste the Difference Île-de-Beauté Rosé, Corsica (Ro)(V) top-notch, good intensity, soft
NEW Fairtrade, Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, South Africa NC(R)(V) surprising, good level of complexity, dark fruit, good balance
Château de Pierreux Brouilly, France (R)(V) rich but not too heavy, plenty of complexity, strong expression
NEW TTD Marselan, France NC(R)(V) deep, dark, broody, just holds it together
TOP PICK The Best Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc, France MC(W)(V) stone fruit, citrus, creamy + nutty, full but fresh
The Best Block Series 006 Paarl Chenin Blanc, South Africa (W)(V) great texture, lovely weight, creamy + nutty with beautiful intensity of fruit
NEW The Best Block Series 005 Douro Godelho, Portugal (W)(V) fantastic intensity, ripe orchard fruit, great representation of the region
The Best Vinho Verde Rose, Portugal (Ro)(V) touch of sweetness, soft red fruit, fresh, easy to take down
The Best Côtes du Rhône Villages, Sablet, France (R)(V) dark cherry, pepper, plum, spice, firm, great value
NEW The Best Block Series 009 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, USA MC(R)(V) exciting addition, very full style of Pinot, great flavour intensity, worth going for
STAR BUY Ramos Family Reserva, Alentejo, Portugal 2023 (R)(V) red fruit, spice, touch of oak, dinner party sorted
Journey's End Spekboom Syrah, South Africa 2023 MC(R) Rhône/Aussie hybrid, lush fruit, spice, great purity
Only available in-store
NEW Ribolla Gialla Spumante, Italy (S) bright citrus, not too complex, great price and a little different
NEW Gemischter Satz White, Austria (W) oooo interesting, tropical and orchard fruit, good intensity, marmite wine
New Atlantique, Rosé, France (Ro) Provence style, soft red fruit, very easy drinking
NEW Unearthed, Zweigelt Rosé, Austria (Ro) can’t go wrong, real burst of red berry, fresh
NEW Unearthed, Macedonian Kratosija (R) good complexity, red fruit, good balance
Animus, Douro, Reserva, Portugal (R) plump, ripe, dark fruit
NEW Pfalz, Pinot Noir, Germany (R) light, bright, fair expression, nothing more
Mimo Moutinho Dao, Portugal (R) good expression of the region, super value, red fruit with good complexity
NEW Zweigelt Shiraz, Australia (R) interesting blend, lightness and crunchiness of Zweigelt against the fuller Shiraz, jury is still out
GREAT PRICE Extra Special Crémant d’Alsace NV, France (S) citrus, nutty, elegant fizz, great price
STAR BUY Azul Marinho Alvarinho, Portugal (W) brilliant wine for the price, fresh, vibrant, balanced
NEW The Wine Atlas Carricante Terre Siciliane, Sicily (W) interesting grape, mineral, citrus
Extra Special Viognier, France (W) stone fruit, fair expression, good price
NEW Advini Vin Orange Gros Manseng, France (O) dried fruit, textured, quirky & well done
NEW Masso Antico Primitivo, Italy (R) friendly, juicy, red fruit meets chocolate
Beaujolais Villages, La Camensarde, France (R) light, a match with chicken, red fruit, can be chilled
NEW Stellenbosch Original Series Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, South Africa (R)(V) dark fruit, oak, fair expression
GREAT PRICE Fairtrade Tilimuqui Sparkling Brut, Argentina (S) floral fizz, tropical, soft texture, fun + bright
NEW Cape Point, Fairtrade, Sauvignon/Semillon, South Africa (W)(V) top producer, fresh meets waxy, good balance and enticing
NEW Irresistible Viognier, Argentina 2024 (W)(V) peach + apricot, floral lift, smooth + generous
NEW Coeur De Cardeline Rosé, France (Ro) red berry, dry + crisp, Provence style,
NEW in store only Orange Groove, South Africa 2024 (O) bruised apple, citrus + savoury twist, light + modern
NEW in store only Collin Bourisset Fleurie, Beaujolais 2023 (R) red apple, wild strawberry, floral, silky + joyful
NEW in store only Réserve des Vignerons Saumur Red, Loire 2023 (R) light, herbal, soft red fruit, elegant + food-friendly
NEW Vergelegen Cabernet Merlot Fairtrade, South Africa £10 (R) star buy, strong price, Bordeaux style
NEW in store only Château Senailhac, Bordeaux, France (R) blackberry, firm tannins, savoury edge, big value Bordeaux
In-store only
NEW Crémant de Loire Brut Rosé, France (W) citrus, strawberry, good balance
NEW Corte Aurelio Grillo, Sicily (W) expressive,citrus, slight salinity, great price
NEW Haraszthy Sauvignon Blanc Wine, Hungary (W) floral, aromatic, zesty
NEW Exquise Grenache, France (Ro) strawberry, zingy, safe
NEW Primitivo Salento, Italy (R) plummy, hint of sweetness, fair expression
Agramont Garnacha Old Vine (R) fair expression, red fruits, lightish
NEW Passamano, Frappato/Syrah, Sicily (R) dark fruit, sweet element, fruit forward
Faustino Rivero Ulecia, Albariño, Spain (W) fresh, citrus, good expression
Kirkland Signature Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, USA (R) medium, vanilla, dark fruit, fair
Cantina Zaccagnini Tralcetto Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy (R) crowd pleaser, young fruits, slight spice
Vallone Special Selection Appassimento Salento, Italy (R) top pick, sweet fruits, bold, rounded
Castello Banfi, Brunello di Montalcino, Italy (R) big winery, big wine, delicious
Moderato Alcohol Free Colombard - Cuvée Originale Sparkling Wine (Sp) sweetness, almond, freshness
Thomson & Scott, Noughty, Organic Sparkling Chardonnay, Spain (S)(V) fair, not too sweet, good alternative
Thomson & Scott Noughty Sparkling Rosé (S) hit of sweetness, red fruit, decent
Community.Co zero alcohol sparkling white NV (S) used to serve this at my events, not too sweet, does the job!
Real Peony Blush Non Alcoholic Sparkling Tea (S) fresh, cranberry
M&S Alcohol Free Fizzero, Rose (S) tea, light sparkling, not trying to be wine
Wednesday’s Domaine, Rosé Still + Sparkling bundle (Ro) plenty of fruit
Hi Luke thanks for these great recommendations! Any chance you could add the prices so that I can know which ones are relevant to my not so healthy wallet?! Thank you!
The Aldi Viognier is truly fantastic. Have been stocking up, but unfortunately not matching my rate of consumption!