Red wines

Château de Rhodes Chevalier de Rhodes Gaillac Rouge Gaillac, France 2019

Former French national rugby team star turned financier Eric Lépine switched to wine with the acquistion of the 20ha Château de Rhodes in the village of Boissel, close to Gaillac, in 2002.

Fully organic since 2011, the estate covers three very different high-quality terroirs in the Gaillac appellation, with this cuvée, a blend of the local Duras with Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, grown on clay-limestone soils with southfacing slopes.

Fermented with indigenous yeast in concrete tanks, the wine’s “concentrated but refreshingly bright red plummy fruit, with notes of blackcurrant, minerals, and a charming herbal streak” was a hit with judges. “A spicy finish; bags of character, good price, real wine.”

Boutinot

RRP £17.49 ABV 14.5%

Plaimont Producteurs Grevière

Madiran, France 2019

The influential Gascon co-operative Plaimont Producteurs has played an important role in shaping modern Madiran.

This is the south western French home of Tannat, of course, and Plaimont has learned how to tame the variety’s burly tannins, a task which is made all the easier when it is grown in the correct terroir, such as the ancient gravel-clay soils that are unique to Madiran and which are the source for this cuvée.

“This shows excellent value for a wine that has local character and charm,” the judges said. “Duck and cassoulet-ready tannins and acidity and rich forest fruit, but not too heavy as some Tannat can be. Would definitely consider stocking this.”

Gusto Wines

RRP £15.99 ABV 13%

Plaimont Producteurs La Madeleine

Saint-Mont, France 2018

As well as producing wines in the Madiran, Pacherenc and Côte de Gascogne appellations, Plaimont dominates Saint-Mont, to the point where producer and appellation are all but synonymous.

La Madeleine comes from a special plot of hilltop vines that is well over 100 years old, and was among the first to be planted post phylloxera.

It’s a wine of historical signficance, then, but, for the judges, this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinenc and Tannat has enormous appeal in the here and now. “Luxurious richness of black fruit, with black cherry to the fore and plenty of tannin and concentration, but all beautifully balanced, with mineral tones,” they said.

Gusto Wines

RRP £39.99 ABV 14%

Château de Campuget Syrah 1753 Sans Sulfites

Vin de France, France 2021

Château de Campuget is one of the leading producers in the Costières de Nîmes appellation. So you might wonder why owner Frank-Lin Dalle has chosen to bottle this 100% Syrah, which is sourced from estate vineyards in the very heart of the appellation near the village of Manduel, as a Vin de France.

The reason, according to importer Hallgarten & Novum Wines, is to “distinguish the distinctive style of this wine, which has been made without sulphites”.

No matter how it’s made and labelled, it’s a wine that our judges loved. “Lovely lifted Syrah nose, bright and crunchy and full of energy, but with a silky feel, too,” they said. “Very easy to drink!”

Hallgarten & Novum Wines

RRP £15.49 ABV 13%

Château de l’Ou I Love l’Ou

Côte du Roussillon Villages, France 2019

Château de l’Ou takes its name from the Catalan for egg, a tribute, according to Hallgarten & Novum Wines, to the “ovoid-shape resurgence of water at the property” in Montescot, Roussillon.

It’s owned and run by Séverine and Philippe Bourrier, who were early green viticulture pioneers in the region, converting the 26ha of vineyard (plus 4ha of olive trees) to organic when they bought it in 1998.

Their blend of 50% Marselan, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah “takes you right to the Mediterranean,” according to the judges.

“Great fruit and garrigue notes, structured ripe tannins and freshness coming through. Great value, great stuff!”

Hallgarten & Novum Wines

RRP £15.99 ABV 14.5%

Domaines Paul Mas Château Lauriga Réserve Cuvée Bastien

Roussillon, France 2021

Situated between Thuir and Perpignan, Château Lauriga is one of the jewels in Jean Claude Mas’s extensive collection of Languedoc-Roussillon domaines.

The château has some 68ha of vineyards, including the remarkable 102-year-old “del Rey” site, planted on a mix of soil types and to varieties that are both traditional to the area (such as Carignan and Grenache) and are more recent arrivals (Syrah).

All three varieties are used in this red blend, which impressed the judges with its “rich mix of dark berry and blackcurrant compote and sprinkle of peppery spices. Great depth and great value.”

Domaines Paul Mas

RRP £15.99 ABV 14.5%

Domaines Paul Mas La Forge Estate Malbec

IGP Pays d’Oc, France 2022

An astute businessman as well as a brilliant winemaker, Jean-Claude Mas has always known how to identify a gap in the market.

The Forge Estate wines are a case in point, designed as they are to be a “fusion of the old and new worlds of wine,” using the best grapes from the company’s partner growers to make high-quality, well-priced varietal wines from a mix of local and big-name grape varieties, with just a touch of oak.

“So good to come across wines like this at this price, which are the bread and butter of a range,” the judges said. “Lovely mix of berry fruit compote but there’s more going on than your average Malbec with chocolate and herbal notes.”

Domaines Paul Mas

RRP £11.95 ABV 14.5%

Domaine Gardiés Mas Les Cabes Rouge

Côtes du Roussillon, France 2021

Jean Gardiés took the helm at his family’s 35ha property in the late 1990s and soon began bottling his own wines from vines that he manages organically, in recent years working alongside his son, Victor.

The famiy are based at their “home” vineyard in Tautavel, but also work the 1.5ha Mas Les Cabes estate in the Espria de l’Agly terroir, which the family purchased in 1990 and which is the source of this Syrah-Grenache-Carignan blend.

“Luxurious fruit – oodles and oodles of it, with a soft rich feel to the velvety tannins and some darker savoury tones,” the judges said.

“This is an authentic southern French red with wide appeal at a good price.”

Hallgarten & Novum Wines

RRP £16.75 ABV 13.5%