Best wines to buy in bulk
Choose the best – May 09 wines
There are times in life when it pays to spend more money. Let me explain. Where wine is concerned, buying in bulk is a smart way to save a few pounds.
This month, I’ve chosen eight wines, all available at a discount and many only a mouse click away – I told you I'd save you money!
1 2008 Ken Forrester Handmade Chenin, Western Cape (£6.49, or £4.33 each for three, Wine Rack)
From the King of Cape Chenin Blanc, this is a great buy at the cheaper price, showing attractive, unoaked apple and tropical fruit flavours with refreshing acidity and bags of character. This is a hugely gluggable Cape quaffer.
2 2006 El Bosque Carmenère, Rapel (£36 for six, exclusive to tesco.com)
A big, bold, fruit-packed expression of Chile’s most unusual red grape, Carmenère, this is a stylishly oaked red with notes of chocolate, cassis and green pepper, and a hint of vanilla on the aftertaste. And it will age well too.
3 2007 Château Saint-Jean-des-Graves, Graves (£7.49, Waitrose or waitrose.com/wine)
If you want free delivery, you’ll need to buy more than one case of this tangy, grapefruity, unoaked Bordeaux white blend. Otherwise, head for your nearest Waitrose store and buy six bottles instead to make sure you secure a discount.
4 2008 Firefinch Sauvignon Blanc, Robertson Valley (£7.99 per bottle, or available per case of 12 for £86.29, down from £95.88, marksandspencer.com)
Zesty, refreshing and full of gooseberry and passion fruit flavours, this is a perfect screw-capped white for summer. Get a few extra bottles in now to prepare for the sunshine to come. We hope!
5 Berry Bros & Rudd Champagne Cuvée Grand Cru Brut (£21.25, or £17.95 per bottle if you buy a case, bbr.com)
A great-value sub-£20 fizz, if you buy a case. Ideal for a party or wedding, this blend of mainly Pinot Noir with 25% Chardonnay is toasty and complex, with a pleasingly dry finish.
6 2007 Taste the Difference Argentinian Malbec, Mendoza (£6.99, or £6.64 each if you buy six, Sainsbury’s)
Ripe, plummy and seductively oaky, this is a smoky, blackberryish, violet-scented Malbec with depth of flavour and ripeness tempered by acidity and freshness.
7 2005 Pena de Pato, Dão (£6.99, or £5.59 each for two, Majestic)
When is the world going to catch on to the value for money that’s offered by Portuguese reds? This harmonious blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Alfrocheiro is juicy, brambly and unoaked. Chill as you would a Beaujolais.
8 2005 d’Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz, McLaren Vale (£9.99, or £7.99 each for 12, Oddbins) This isn’t a shy and retiring red, but it’s a great Aussie Shiraz at the price, with prominent oak, ripe plum and blackberry flavours, and smooth tannins. Just the thing for a Sunday roast.
