Leopard’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2017

Tomorrow the annual Fairtrade Fortnight starts in the UK. I wish I could get more enthusiastic about Fairtrade wine but so many of them are underwhelming. Happily this wine which is made in South Africa is an exception: not mindblowing - you wouldn’t expect that for £5 - but a more than decent bottle for the price.

It’s made at a winery called Leopard’s Leap in Franschhoek which I visited a couple of years ago which belongs to the Rupert Family who also own nearby La Motte and has an impressive workers’ village and school called Dennegeur

It’s obviously imported in bulk (how can you tell? the small print on the back label says W1743 at CH2 4LF UK which turns out, when you Google it, to be a bottling plant near Chester called Encirc). That’s not necessarily a bad thing - it certainly reduces the cost and the carbon footprint of the wine - glass is heavy and bulky to transport.

It’s on offer at the Co-op for £5.49 and is the sort of simple fruity red you could knock back with a plate of pasta, a pizza or a burger. It’s also suitable for both vegetarians and vegans and would make a good party wine. Sainsbury’s is selling a similar bottle for £5 but I don’t know if it’s the same vintage or certified Fairtrade. And I like to shop at the Co-op who do more to support Fairtrade than most other retailers.

Pillitteri Cabernet Sauvignon icewine

One of the Christmas bargains last year was a Pillitteri vidal icewine which Lidl was managing to sell for an astonishing £14.99 a half bottle, probably cheaper than you could find it from its country of origin, Canada.

My friend Jenny scoured all the branches in Bristol for weeks to pick up every available bottle.

This year they’ve added a cabernet sauvignon ice wine at £15.99 to their Christmas range which is, if anything, even more appealing - a pale dusky pink which tastes of rose petals and would be a fantastic match for a box of milk chocolates or a milk chocolate dessert. I say milk because I think it would show off its delicate flavours better than dark chocolate. A few raspberries on the plate wouldn’t go amiss.

The range went on sale last Thursday so I’d pop into Lidl and snap up enough to last you not only through Christmas but Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter as well*. If you can keep your hands off it until then! With its elegant bottle and box it would also make a lovely gift.

* There's also a £4 off if you buy 4 bottles deal at the time of writing. The Monbazillac and Tokaji Szamorodni are also worth buying at £6.99 if you have a sweet tooth.

London Cru SW6, Red Wine 1

The idea of making wine in London from grapes grown in France and Italy sounds a bit of a crazy one but London Cru’s first vintage is an impressive debut.

The 'urban winery', which is backed by the entrepreneurial wine merchant Cliff Roberson, operates out of a former gin distillery in Earl's Court. This year they’ve released four wines from grapes harvested last year including a full-bodied Roussillon chardonnay, a bright, zesty young Syrah from the same region, a Cabernet Sauvignon made by Mas Coutelou in Puimisson the next door village to our house in Languedoc and a Barbera.

What I like about these wines in general is that they’re not overworked or overextracted. It would have been easy to make a simple crowd-pleaser but they’re quite daringly fresh-tasting and modest in alcohol - almost verging on natural wine.

Of the four I like the Barbera (Red Wine 2) least - it’s a little weedy for the price - and the syrah (Red Wine 1) best. It’s a lovely wine - vivid and life-affirming, the sort to gulp down with some spicy sausages, charcuterie or confit duck and chips. At 12.5% it’s not by any means a blockbuster.

The Chardonnay (White Wine 1) which I at first took for grenache gris is also appealing - smooth and full but not too heavy. A good foil for roast chicken or a veal chop. The Cabernet (Red Wine 3) I think you’d find a little light if you were a cab fan - I don’t feel it's Jeff Coutelou’s favourite grape. (Go for his 7 rue de la Pompe instead)

At £15 each these wines are not cheap but given the overheads I suspect they’re not being sold at a massive profit either. They seem to have a few sampler cases of each of the 4 bottles left which is a good way to taste all the wines although there’s no price advantage in it. It would make a great present for any Londoner, particularly one who lives in SW6, but I’d get in quick. I suspect there won’t be much, if any, left in the run-up to Christmas.

* You can also book tickets for tours of the winery during November

Parcel series Cabernet Merlot Reserve 2012

South African reds are on a roll right now but few are better value than this elegant Bordeaux style red from Majestic.

It’s part of the so-called 'parcel series' which, as the name implies, consists of parcels of wine which are released from various unnamed wineries who presumably have wine to flog but don’t particular want it to be known they’re prepared to sell it at the price. A bit like lastminute.com’s Top Secret hotels.

The only clue on Majestic’s website is that it’s “a well-known, multi-award-winning organically farmed estate in South Africa. Hand-harvested, fermented in traditional open tanks, and matured for 18 months in French and American oak.” I could have a guess but wouldn’t be fair to let on.

Whatever. It’s a lovely wine - smooth, ripe and generous without being at all jammy. One that would make any Bordeaux-lover very happy, especially on the current ‘buy two bottles save 33% deal’ which brings it down to a very attractive £6.66. Perfect for a roast leg of lamb.

(If you’re looking for a white to make up your six bottles try the As Caixas Godello 2012 - a crisp citrussy white that tastes a bit like a cross between a sauvignon blanc and an albarino. On the same promotion at £6.66 and an ideal seafood wine.)