Blés Tinto 2014, Valencia

13.5%
€9.50 in Dunnes Stores from 1st September.

Medium-bodied with lovely bouncy ripe dark fruits and light tannins on the finish.

A good all-rounder, and perfect with mid-week dinners.

I really enjoyed the previous vintage of this wine and the new 2014 vintage is every bit as good. It is made primarily from Bobal, a variety unique to south-east Spain. The 2014 has been blended with some Tempranillo and Cabernet to bring the alcohol down a little, and it has worked really well. I believe this is going on sale in Dunnes Stores at €9.50 from 1st September – a fantastic bargain in my books.

Lombeline Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Vin de Loire

12%
€10.50-11.00

Available from La Touche, Greystones; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; McCabes, Blackrock & Foxrock; Rua, Castelbar; Liston’s, Camden St.

Herby, grassy aromas and fresh clean green fruits with a nice zesty kick.

Before dinner, with fishy starters or mild goat’s cheese salad.

Lombeline is selected by Charles Derain, former sommelier at Patrick Guilbaud, and one of the best tasters in this country. As well as bringing in a very nice range of fine Burgundy and a few other goodies, he sources this Loire Sauvignon. We all need a house white, something reliable that we can crack open and enjoy before dinner or with a starter. The Lombeline falls into this category; inexpensive, well-made and satisfying.

Tesco’s Finest Montepulciano d’Abruzzo La Francese 2013

13%
€12

Available from Tesco

Light juicy dark cherry and plum fruits with a nice freshness.

A great all-purpose wine, but I imagine this would go very nicely with pizza as well as lighter meat pasta dishes.

I remember meeting Gatene Carron back in the late 1990’s (both she and I were very young then!). She was very glamorous too – a globe-trotting winemaker, fluent in four languages, who had studied in France before working in China, Australia, Oregon and Chile, where she made wine at Concha y Toro. When I met her she was a flying winemaker for UK company Western Wines, who made wine in various parts of the world. She now works for Mondo del Vino, a large Italian producer that supplies many of the importers and multiples in Ireland and the UK. The wines are consistent and reliable with the odd star. This is one of the good ones, named after her, La Francese.

Julia Florista Vinho Branco, Portugal

12.5%
€9.99

Available from O’Briens

It is rare to find anything exciting at this sort of price. You are generally looking for a lack of faults rather than a fine wine. The Julia Florista, from the team that brought you Porta 6, delivers a very satisfying mouthful of fresh green fruits, good refreshing acidity and a snappy finish. Perfect for everyday drinking, this would make a great party wine. Julia, by the way, was a legendary fado singer who passed away in 1925.

Pegos Claros 2010, Palmela, Portugal

14%
€14.99

Available from O’Briens, and independent wine shops.

A bold and very beautiful wine; medium to full-bodied with a dangerously moreish palate of ripe liquorice, figs and dark fruits, finishing on a smooth note. Over-delivers at every stage.

I would go for a big beef or lamb casserole or maybe a nice steak.

This is an old favourite but I hadn’t tasted it for a while and was blown away by it in a tasting yesterday. Palmela is a small region on the Setúbal peninsula, across the river Tagus from the capital Lisbon. In the sandy soils running right down to the Atlantic ocean the Castelão grape produces unique fruit-filled wines, that have the ability to age very well.

Domaine Py 2013, Corbières

13%
€14.95

Available from Spar, Castleforbes; Hole in the Wall, D7; D Six; Reids, Enniscorthy; Wine Well, Dunboyne; The Wicklow Wine Co.

Good firm crunchy dark fruits with a little acidity and some dry tannins to make it a perfect everyday food wine.

I would drink this with virtually any kind of European meat dish.

This is the sort of wine you would love to get in a French bistro, but sadly rarely do – in my experience most cheap French restaurants serve awful muck. This however is very good and was even better the second night when I tried it again. Earlier this week, I spent a very pleasant hour talking and tasting wine with the guys who run this excellent shop on Wicklow Main Street. It is slightly ramshackle with bottles and boxes and all sorts of other goodies piled up in every conceivable space – they also do coffee and various foods. It is a great place to visit and I should go there more often. I also picked up this bottle to try at home.