Mas de Libian Bout d’Zan, Côtes du Rhône 2012

If you’re after a bright, fruity, sunshine-filled red to carry you through the dark, dreary days of winter you couldn't do better than this delicious Côtes du Rhône.

It’s made by a young woman winemaker Hélène Thibon from 40-45 year old vines on an estate the family has farmed since 1670 and at £9.90 a bottle (from Les Caves de Pyrène*) it’s ridiculously good value for a biodynamic wine.

It’s a typically southern Rhone blend of grenache (80%) and Syrah (20%) but has amazing, mouthwateringly vivid fruit you just don’t get from conventionally made wine - certainly at this price. Only 30% of the wine spends time in oak - big foudres rather than barrels.

You could drink it with practically anything from charcuterie to cheese - roast chicken, pork belly, garlicky sausages, grilled lamb - even the Christmas turkey. Certainly the Boxing Day leftovers. Caves’ Doug Wregg suggests “lamb meatballs impregnated with fennel and herbes de Provence and pasta” which I imagine would be a terrific match. Or a pizza, maybe - as I say, practically anything.

The quirky name apparently means bits of liquorice and refers to the liquorice flavour in the wine though I don’t personally find it that liquoricey and wouldn’t like it so much if it was. The wine is made without sulphur but I’d defy any natural wine sceptic not to like it. Pure happiness in a glass.

It's also available for £12.49 from the Smiling Grape Company and £12.95 from Joseph Barnes or £11.66 if you buy an unsplit case. You can read more about it on the Caves de Pyrène website.

Crozes-Hermitage, Les Galets Domaine des Hauts Chassis 2011

I’ve a bit of a weakness for the Rhône but was really blown away by this amazing Crozes I tasted at the Berry Bros & Rudd tasting this week - part of their Rhône sale which lasts until November 10th.

It’s young syrah at its best - heady, fruity and peppery - full of life and character or as the tasting note rather eccentrically puts it “succulent, come-hither fruit basket flavours” I’m not sure I know what a fruit basket tastes like but you get the picture. I can’t find out much about the domaine but it seems to be run on traditional lines adopting lutte raisonée principles.

You could drink the wine with confit duck, with grilled or roast lamb, with a big juicy pork chop or a bavette steak and chips - it’s the kind of versatile red to have around whenever you feel like treating yourself to a good hearty red.

Admittedly the normal price of £19.95 doesn’t justify everyday drinking - in fact I think I'd baulk at paying quite that much for it - but if you buy a case in the sale, you get it for a much more reasonable £14 a bottle . If that still seems a bit steep find a Rhône-loving neighbour and split a case.

It’s imported in the US by Planet Wine of San Francisco.

Santa Maria del Cami Binissalem 2012, Mallorca

Majorca produces serious wine? Go on, you’re kidding! No I’m not as it happens. This luxuriant red from Bodegues Macia Batle - surprisingly stocked by Marks & Spencer - is a great buy.

Mallorca has apparently been producing wine since 123BC - who knew? - and Binissalem is a recognised DO (Denominacion de Origen) in the centre of the island around the town of the same name. The wine is based on the the indigenous Mante Negro blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah - a Bordeaux-ish blend with an Iberian twist.

At 14% it wears its alcohol lightly - the oak is beautifully in balance with the fruit.

One of the recommended wine matches of Thai beef salad is a bit bizarre, though. I’d drink it with roast lamb but it would also pair well with a good steak or with a hard sheeps' cheese. And it should age, despite the suggestion you should drink it within the year.

I haven’t tasted the 2011 recently which is the vintage featured on the website but would have thought that it was still worth a punt at £9.99 if you come across a bottle in your local branch.

But fill your boots with the 2012 next time M & S has a 25% off deal.

PS I've just heard - through the invaluable Twitter - that Macie Batle's wines are also available at Inverarity Morton in Glasgow.

Noilly Prat Ambré

There’s nothing like hearing a bottle is impossible to get hold of to make you want to buy it so the news (via Jared Brown of Mixellany) that Noilly Prat Ambré was no longer available in the UK made me instantly snap one up here in France when I spotted it on the shelf.

Noilly Prat, for those of you who are not familiar with it, is a famous vermouth which once boasted the slogan ‘Say Noilly Prat and your French will be perfect’ (It’s nwa e pra not noily prat - not that my French is up to much.)

It’s made in the small town of Marseillan on the Languedoc coast and - like madeira - is aged in barrels that sit outside in the scorching sun. The original is a pale but heavily aromatised vermouth that is a classic component of a martini* but the Ambré which also contains orange and vanilla is much richer and sweeter, more like a herb-infused Pineau de Charentes.

Jared tells me (via Facebook) his favourite way of drinking it is “on the rocks, sometimes with a twist. I have made martinis with it, using the original 1:1 ratio, with a lemon twist. I have even used a bit more vermouth than gin. This pairs well with oysters, especially if you happen to be sitting harbourside in Marseillan. It’s lovely in a Manhattan, but I’m really a traditionalist there: Martini Rosso is still my favourite in a Manhattan."

I haven’t explored a fraction of the possibilities but can vouch for the ‘on the rocks’ serving - I’m actually keeping it in the fridge. And the good news is that it does occasionally seem to be available in the UK: at The Whisky Exchange (for £16, though not at the time of writing) and I imagine Gerry's of Old Compton Street could get hold of some though they don't appear to have it on their website.

So if you’re anywhere near Marseillan or a wine shop in the Languedoc snag a bottle. Mine cost only 11.60€ (£10) so was quite a bit cheaper than you'll find it elsewhere.

If you spot Ambré anywhere else let me know!

* And also a good addition to many fish dishes.