2001 Chambolle Musigny Patrice Rion, France, Berry Bros, £19.95.
Berrys have sharpened up their act of late in Bordeaux and Burgundy, and at long last now offer “Berrys’ Own Selection” wines that taste as classy as they look. This glorious, fine, light, leafy, plummy red burgundy, underpinned with sufficent fleshy, gamey, spicy fruit, is a case in point. It comes from Patrice and Michele Rion, who produce a terrific run of pure, fruit-filled white and red burgundies.
2002 Gevrey Chambertin, En Jouise, Domaine Harmand-Geoffroy, France, Great Western Wine (01225 322810), £19.95.
Gérard Harmand’s En Jouise vineyard has 30 to 40-year-old vines on the south of the appellation, abutting the premier cru site, hence the extra dash of elegance that, with the excellent 2002 red burgundy vintage, makes this bottle a must-have. Fatter and fleshier than the other gevreys tasted, I loved its plummy, gamey, strawberry spice.
2002 Château Taillefer, Pomerol, Bordeaux, Les Héritiers Bernard Moueix, France, Tesco, £17.99.
The Moueix family are one of the most famous of the right-bank dynasties, and Catherine Moueix has done a marvellous job with this claret. Pomerol is one of the most prestigious of Bordeaux’s communes, and wines here do not come cheap, so Tesco has done well to snap up this ripe, raisiny, plummy merlot, with its exotic, spicy finish, for less than £20.
2004 Saint Joseph Domaine Coursodon, Pierre Coursodon, France, Montrachet, £14.75; berry bros, £15.95.
Steep, east-facing hillside vineyards and 100 per cent syrah grapes aged partly in oak account for this wine’s splendid flavours. Way ahead of négociant-level Saint Joseph, and from a good vintage, this classy rhône red’s lively, peppery palate and seductive syrah spice is ideal with everything from hot gammon to garlicky charcuterie.
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2002 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir, La Bauge Au-dessus, California, Berry Bros, £18.95; the wine society, £17.50.
Jim Clendenen’s burgundian-inspired California wines always impress, as he is as good with the wily pinot noir grape as he is with chardonnay. Certainly, this impressive single-vineyard hillside pinot noir can easily stand up alongside its Burgundian competition, and its ripe, sappy, savoury oak, with lots of sweet, spicy fruit on the finish, is a joy.
1998 La Dame de Montrose, Saint Estèphe, Bordeaux, J.L. Charmolue, France, Lea & Sandeman (020-7244 0522), £17.95, special bottle price for Times readers.
Second wines do not always deliver some of the grand vin’s finesse and flavour for half the price, but La Dame de Montrose always seems to pull this trick off. I loved the 1997 vintage, but the 1998 is superior, with some delicious robust, bold, beefy spice that will make a happy partner to roasted red meats.
2003 Gigondas Les Espalines, Cuvée Les Tendrelles, Rhône, France, Waitrose, £12.99.
Rhône reds make tasty summer drinking on cooler days with big food, including milder barbecued meats and, later on, with the first game dishes. This blend, or cuvée, is made predominantly from grenache, but with one quarter mourvèdre in the mix, too, and from a fine southern rhône vintage to boot. It delivers all sorts of delicious, bold, warm, gamey, perfumed grenache spice.
2004 Two Hands Gnarly Dudes, Barossa Shiraz, Australia, Oddbins, £14.99; cellar door (01727 854488), £13.98.
New World wines sport some wacky names, and this impressive Australian shiraz is just such a bottle, named after the ancient shiraz vines it is made from: the “gnarly dudes” in the title. Although this 15 per cent alcohol whopper will not appeal to all, those with lazy summer barbecues in mind will lap up its delicious, sweet, burly blackberry fruit, before a snooze in a deckchair.
1997 Château Haut-Bages Averous, Pauillac, France, Majestic, £14.99.
The second wine of the much admired fifth-growth Pauillac estate, Château Lynch-Bages, this wine is made from a typical blend of 70 per cent cabernet sauvignon, with 15 per cent merlot and a dash each of cabernet franc and petit verdot. What you get here is a big mouthful of rich, fat, spicy, cedary fruit, that traditional and contemporary claret drinkers will enjoy equally.
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2003 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine de la Janasse, Aimé Sabon, France, Majestic, £19.99.
This stylish, burly 14.5 per cent alcohol châteauneuf is made from just three red grapes – 75 per cent grenache with 15 per cent syrah and 10 per cent mourvèdre. I loved this hearty red’s big, beefy, savoury palate, complete with lots of seductive, floral, cinnamon spice. A good partner to a duck stir-fry, grilled venison steaks, or again the first game dishes of August.
2003 Errazuriz The Blend, Limited Edition, Aconcagua Valley, Chile, stone, vine & Sun (01962 712351), £14.50.
This new arrival from Chile, a 14.5 per cent blend of principally cabernet sauvignon with one-fifth shiraz, or syrah, a dollop of sangiovese and a dash of carmenère, is the first vintage that Errazuriz has made of this wine, and let’s hope it will not be the last. I loved its fat, curranty, creosote-scented style, cushioned by plenty of ripe, elegant fruit.
2003 Greenhough Pinot Noir, Hope Vineyard, New Zealand, Lay & Wheeler (0845 3301855), £18.95.
This top-drawer, single-vineyard pinot noir from the 11-hectare Hope vineyard on New Zealand’s South Island spends a year in French oak barrels. 2003 was one of the better vintages here, and this wine has so much ripe, leafy, smoky, gamey pinot noir fruit that the Burgundians should be worried.