My best buys from Waitrose’s current promotion

I’ve always held that across the board discounts are the best kind of special offer, throwing up some real bargain buys along with the opportunity to get more expensive bottles at a price you can afford.

Here’s my pick from the most recent Waitrose tasting, some of which - especially the wines in the Loved & Found range - appear to be out of stock online but if you’re lucky you might pick them up in store. The promotion applies to bottles bought in store or delivered by next Tuesday November 9th.

Loved & Found

A new range highlighting less familiar grapes at really bargainous prices. I’ve writen about three of them in my Guardian column this week so you may find them out of stock

Fernão Pires 2021 £5.24 down from £6.99
Fresh crisp, aromatic white, normally from Portugal, in this case from South Africa. Would go well with south-east Asian-inspired food.

Marselan 2019 Rhône £5.24 down from £6.99
Bright, juicy, easy-drinking red. Perfect for parties.

Castelão 2019, Lisboa, Portugal £5.24 down from £6.99
Supple, ripe, easy drinking pasta wine from Portugal

Perricone 2020 Sicily £5.99 down from £7.99
Fresh, gulpable Sicilian red that would be perfect with pizza or seafood-based pasta sauces.

Other whites

The Search Grenache Marsanne Roussanne 2021 Voor-Paardeberg £7.49 down from £9.99
Smooth, creamy citrussy South African white which would work well with creamy sauces. (Note this vintage isn’t available online yet and I can’t vouch for how the 2020 is bearing up)

Viña Lareira Albariño Sobre Lias 2020 Rias Baixas £8.99 down from £11.99
Quite a fruity style of albarino that should appeal if you’re into sauvignon blanc. Great with raw shellfish and fishy salads

Waitrose No 1 Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Awatere £8.99 down from £11.99
Given the current shortage of New Zealand Sauvignon blanc it would be well worth snapping up this really good example especially at this price. Gorgeous with salads

Aslina Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Stellenbosch £10.49 down from £13.99 (NB only available in 8 shops)
Good to see recognition for South Africa’s first black woman winemaker Ntsiki Biyela. A lovely pure elegant sauvignon blanc to drink with almost any seafood.

Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2019 Mosel £26.25 a magnum down from £35
A fantastic Christmas buy for riesling lovers - if you can fit it it in your fridge! Would be great with smoked fish.

Orange wine

Macerao Naranjo 2021 Itata Valley, Chile £6.74 down from £8.99
A chance to try an orange wine (that’s a white wine that’s left in contact with the skins, not a wine made from oranges) at a really good price. Tastes - rather gorgeously - of peaches and quince. Try it with aubergine or squash dishes.

Other reds

Palacio de Primavera Tinto Rioja 2019 £6.74 down from £8.99
A delicious young rioja in quite a modern fruity style despite the traditional label. Good all-rounder but particularly for a cheeseboard

Rustenberg Malbec 2020 Stellenbosch £9.74 down from £12.99
Argentina is the more usual place to look for malbec but this is a great example from South Africa. Steak still the obvious pairing

Moss Brothers Moses Rock Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Margaret River £9.74 down from £12.99
A lovely fresh minty cabernet from Western Australia that would be great with roast lamb, especially with a salsa verde.

Yalumba Galway Shiraz 2019 Barossa Valley £9.74 down from £12.99
I’ve tasted some great Aussie shiraz lately and this is one of them. Really lovely, mellow and sweet-fruited. Think beef or venison.

Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato 2020 Piedmont £10.49 down from £13.99 Waitrose Cellar only
Really thrilling Piedmontese red with an exotic taste of pomegranate molasses. Would be great with Lebanese or other middle-eastern food.

Chateau Pey la Tour Réserve Magnum 2016 £18.74 down from £24.99
A really decent mature Bordeaux in magnum at a brilliant price. Perfect for a celebratory Sunday roast.

Mt Difficulty Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2019 Central Otago £19.49 down from £25.99
I love Central Otago pinot noir but it’s normally quite pricey so this discount makes it (just about) affordable. Really lovely sweet ripe fruit - would be great with crispy duck pancakes.

Sparkling

L’Atzar Cava Reserva Brut 2019 £8.99 down from £11.99
I’ve flagged this up before and still really like it. Great party fizz

Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve £22.50 down from £30
Rich and toasty - one of the most consistently reliable English sparklers so take advantage of the discount. Would be fab with fish and chips.

Sweet

Alambre Moscatel de Setubal 2012£5.99 a half bottle down from £7.99 Note, only available in 43 shops.
A lovely rich, orangey fortified wine that would be great with Christmas pudding.

3 rose and 2 red wine bargains from Waitrose

Waitrose isn’t perhaps the first place you’d think of looking for wine bargains but at their summer tasting this week I found three rosés which you might want to snap up before the current offer ends on Tuesday June 1st.

Pierrick Harang Le Rosé de Balthazar 2020 Languedoc on offer at £5.99

I find it hard to believe there actually IS someone called Pierrick Harang but this crisp, dry rosé is pretty impressive particularly at this bargainous price. Definitely worth stocking up for the good weather we’re forecast to have next week.

La Bijou de Sophie Valrose 2020 Coteaux de Béziers on offer at £4.49 a half bottle (in 124 shops and online)

Half bottles of rosé are few and far between but ideal if you live on your own or just want to have a glass midweek with your partner. Fruitier than most Provence rosés and verging on the off-dry I’d like to drink this nice and cold.

L’Arene des Anges Costières de Nîmes 2020 on offer at £6.69

Sandwiched between the Languedoc and the Rhône - although it counts as the Rhône - Costières de Nîmes is a name to look out for on wine labels. This is a darker fruiter style than the Balthazar above - a good rosé to drink with food and even a barbecue.

Esprit de Trois Pierres Costières de Nîmes 2020 on offer at £6.69

Another Costières de Nîmes bargain. A good hearty Côte du Rhône-ish red for everyday drinking. Think pub grub like sausage and chips or a steak pie.

Dominique Piron Beaujolais Villages 2018 on offer at £8.99

If you’re a Beaujolais fan you’ll love this gorgeously ripe fruity example from the excellent 2018 vintage which is as good as many Beaujolais ‘crus’

You might also want to pick up a bottle of Waitrose’s 2016 Leckford Estate Brut which is made from grapes in Waitrose’s own vineyard in Hampshire. It’s the best version of the wine I’ve tasted so far - really toasty and champagne-like and is currently on offer at £19.99 instead of the usual £26.99

6 of the best English wine buys from Waitrose’s 25% off deal

I much prefer a 25% across the board discount to offers on individual wines as you can get a good reduction on the bottles you most enjoy. Waitrose does them two or three times a year and the current offer which applies off any six bottles over £5 lasts until next Tuesday, March 9th.*

Previously I've focussed on under £10 wines (see below) but I thought I’d concentrate on English wine this time as Waitrose, particularly Waitrose Cellar, has a really good selection (97 different lines, it turns out, many of which I haven’t heard of! I assume they’re stocked by local stores too.)

* Note: if shopping on Waitrose.com, the delivery date needs to be on or before the 9th March. If shopping on Waitrosecellar.com, the order needs to be placed before the offer expires on 9th March. The offer is not available in branches in Scotland, Wales or Jersey, motorway service stations, Welcome Break, petrol stations or via Deliveroo.

Lyme Bay Shoreline 2018, Devon. Waitrose Cellar only £11.24 down from £14.99

Classic light, summery, elderflowery English white that you’ll enjoy if you like sauvignon blanc. Lovely with smoked salmon.

Simpsons Estate Chardonnay 2018 Waitrose and Waitrose Cellar £11.24 down from 14.99

England is producing some impressive chardonnays these days but they don't normally come at a price as good as this. Drink with a fish pie or grilled plaice

Simpsons pinot noir rosé available at the same price but from Waitrose Cellar only is very pretty too.

Squerreys Vintage Reserve Brut 2016 Waitrose Cellar £24 down from £32

I know this is almost in champagne territory pricewise but it’s similar to champagne in quality too. A really terrific bottle of fizz

Digby Leander Pink £22.50 down from £30 Waitrose and Waitrose Cellar

I’m not sure I would pay 30 quid for this undeniably attractive sparkling rosé but it’s good value at £22. And would be perfect, unless your mum is averse to all things pink, for Mother’s Day.

Nyetimber Classic Cuvée in half bottles, Waitrose and Waitrose Cellar £14.99 down from £19.99

I confess I love a half bottle even though they come at a premium. Sometimes you don’t want more. One of the first English sparkling wines to hit the headlines and still stands up to the competition.

Bolney Estate Pinot Noir 2019 Waitrose Cellar £13.49 down from £17.99

I haven’t tried the 2019 vintage but I’ve always liked this suprisingly rich, full-bodied pinot from Bolney Estate which you could drink with duck or lamb.

Here are some other recommendations from the last Waitrose round-up I did back in November. The Corbières and the oloroso are no longer available.

I’d also buy the Crozes Hermitage from this selection which was being offered at £10 in the run-up to Christmas. It’s still good value at £11.99

The best buys from the 10 at £10 offer at Waitrose, December 2020

Waitrose is running its annual 10 wines under £10 offer until December 16th. All are good reductions but, in my view, having tasted them, some are better than others. Here’s what I’d go for, assuming they’re in stock - some are already out of stock online

Best whites

Esprit de Chablis Premier Cru 2018 originally £17.99

A really big reduction on this classic Chablis which is drinking well now but will easily keep a couple of years. Think simply prepared seafood like oysters, scallops and grilled or panfried fish. *****

Hauts de Perrière Pouilly Fumé 2019 originally £16.79

Another good classic - crisp elegant sauvignon blanc from the Loire. Also good with seafood like prawns and especially smoked salmon ****

Best reds

Cave de Tain Grand Classique Crozes Hermitage 2018 originally £15.99

If you’re a fan of Northern Rhone syrah this young Crozes is a steal from the ultra-reliable Cave de Tain. Drink with a steak or even a winter barbecue *****

Bodegas Manzanos El Piadoso 2011 Gran Reserva originally £16.99

A brilliant price for a gran reserva and still quite vibrant despite its age. Would be great with roast lamb, game or a cheeseboard. *****

Luigi Bosca Seleccion de Vistalba Malbec 2018 originally £16.99

Lusciously rich and velvety - ideal for malbec-lovers though there is a fair amount to chose from around the £10 mark. Drink with steak, obviously but roast beef too. ****

Also worth considering

Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico 2016 originally £13.99

A pukka-looking mature chianti - smooth and elegant. Would go with an Italian style roast or steak, lasagne or a good ragu. ***

Chateau Muret 2012 Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois originally £14.99

If you’re a fan of mature Bordeaux this should hit the spot. Past the first flush of youth (aren’t we all?) and quite tannic and oaky though so needs to be drunk with food. A good wine for a Sunday roast ***

Mirabeau Pure Rosé 2019 originally £14.99

According to Waitrose’s latest trends report we’re drinking rosé all year round these days so if you like that classic pale pink Provençal style it's worth snapping up at this price. Pretty bottle too. Good with party-type food (appreciating we’re not having parties this Christmas) or mildly spicy food. ***

Kopke Reserve Tawny Port originally £14.99

Not as good as tawny ports with an age statement (e.g. 10 or 20 years old) but quite a bit cheaper. Warming, spicy and sweet - would be good with mince pies or chocolate. Looks the part too

And I personally wouldn’t bother with

Bird in Hand Sparkling Pinot Noir originally £15.99

A decent reduction on this stylishly packaged Aussie bubbly but it’s a bit thin and not as good as it was a couple of years ago. Buy a cheap bottle of champagne instead.