Wine of the week: El Bombero Gran Reserva 2009 Carinena

If I saw this wine on a supermarket shelf I wouldn’t pick it up. There’s the name for a start, which sounds like something a marketing department has invented

The old fashioned red and gold label and the fact it’s not a rioja wouldn’t do much for me either.

It also comes from Laithwaite’s, a retailer which has never overly impressed me with its range or pricing

But I’d be wrong. This is a cracking bottle of wine made from garnacha (aka grenache) from the far less fashionable Cariñena region. Despite its age it’s still gorgeously plummy and at £8.99 an absolute steal for a gran reserva which has to be aged for at least 5 years. It’s the perfect wine for a traditional Sunday roast beef (or lamb) lunch and would make any rioja-lovers in the family very happy.

The only thing I’d say is that the advice on the label ‘drink by December 2017’ might be a tad over-optimistic given most domestic storage conditions - I’d be inclined to drink it by Christmas - or the new year, at the latest. Also I’m not sure you need to decant it as they advise. It was pretty good poured straight from the bottle.

Laithwaite’s by the way has just been nominated Merchant of the Year and Online Retailer of the Year by the International Wine Challenge so maybe I’m wrong on that front too. But if you do buy some of the El Bombero beware pushy follow up invitations to buy ‘half price’ mixed cases. And I tried another couple of wines in their range by which I was much less impressed.

PS The other wine I was thinking of making my wine of the week - and might have done if I hadn’t featured them last week is the Charles de Fère Brut Premium Vin Mousseux which is currently on offer at M & S at just £7. It’s a really attractive soft sparkling wine which looks very much like champagne at a casual glance. Perfect for weddings it struck me, if you want an alternative to prosecco.

‘Meli Melo’ 2013 and 3 other good wine finds from Yapp

One of the problems of recommending a wine that most people can only buy online is that they generally have to buy a case - either of that wine or others they haven't a clue whether they’ll like or not.

So if you’ve been enticed by the two rosés I recommended from Yapp in this week’s column in the Guardian here are 4 other wines that might make up your dozen.

Top of my list at this time of year would be the 2013 Meli-Melo (£10.95) from Domaine Roquemale in the Hérault which is made from Alicante Bouschet - a grape that is undergoing a bit of a renaissance. It’s organic - as are many of the wines I’m attracted to - though vibrantly juicy rather than funky and at just 12%, perfectly suited to summer drinking. The perfect wine for a picnic.

I also love the 2014 L’Arpenty Chinon (also 12% £13.50) from the Loire which has all that typically scrunchy fruit of the Cabernet Franc grape - like a handful of freshly picked raspberries and mulberries, leaves and stalks as well as fruit. It’s a wine you could easily serve chilled with fish - seared tuna would be perfect,

The Loire was one of the two French regions on which Yapp built their reputation and so you can trust them with a wine I haven’t seen for a very long time, Gros Plant. At one time it was almost unbearably acidic but just like neighbouring Muscadet it has immeasurably improved in quality. The Domaine de la Mortaine 2013 (£9.75) they stock is whistle-clean, bright and sharp as a squeeze of lemon and would be perfect with oysters and other raw shellfish. If you like the Basque white wine Txacoli you’ll love it. If you're more of a chardonnay guy - or gal - you may not.

And finally an exuberant red from J.P.Boisson, 'Le Petit Caboche’ 2013 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse (£9.50 13.5%), an exotically dark, spicy blend of Caladoc, Syrah, Marselan and Grenache Noir that would be great with a grill or a lamb tagine. I haven't tasted the new 2014 vintage but they have a 15 for the price of 14 case offer on it at £133 which would bring the price per bottle down to £8.87.)

Wine of the week: The Society’s Exhibition Chianti Classico 2012

Sometimes when I go to a Wine Society tasting I find myself wondering why on earth anyone would buy their wine anywhere else.

Their buyers, most of whom have been with them for years, are hugely experienced, their prices - thanks to their status as a co-operative - hugely competitive and their range (of 1500 wines) impressively eclectic. The only downside is that unless you live within spitting distance of their headquarters in Stevenage (and why would you if you can possibly help it?*) you can’t try before you buy, though they hold a number of regional tastings.

One of the things they do particularly well is their own-label Exhibition range which is a selection of top-end wines chosen by and often blended with the help of their buyers.

This Chianti Classico which is made by Poggiopiano is a perfect example - selected by their Italian wine buyer Sebastian Payne who joined the society in 1973 (which means, for the mathematically challenged, he’s worked for them for 42 years.) It’s beautifully balanced - full, rich and smooth but with a nice touch of freshness that offsets its 14% abv.

You could drink it - as many would - with typically Tuscan dishes such as roast lamb with garlic and rosemary but it would also elevate a homely lasagne into a midweek treat

I honestly don’t think you’ll find a chianti of this quality - in the UK at least - at a better price (£11.95 a bottle). Poggipiano’s own Chianti Classico, for example, also stocked by the Society, is £16 and their top end wine £24,

If I’m looking for something to criticise - which I desperately am so that this post doesn’t sound too gushing - the Wine Soc's labels are a bit dull. But I suspect that their members like them like that.

* in case you think I’m being Stevenage-ist I used to live fairly nearby in St Albans. Let’s just say Hertfordshire isn’t the most exciting county in the UK . . .

Off the Shelf: Zalze Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier 2013

This weekend is the last in the current promotion at Waitrose which they’re trumpeting dramatically as a ‘last chance to save’ on their collection of spring wines.

Of course it isn’t. There will be a new raft of deals as soon as this one has finished but it’s your last chance to snap up this particular one which is on offer until Tuesday 12th and which I pulled off the shelf in my local small branch in Bristol.

It’s a big juicy red from the Stellenbosch region of South Africa - a classic Rhône blend of Shiraz Mourvèdre and Viognier though mainly shiraz. It’s all gorgeous dark cherries and forest fruits but not overly jammy and would be perfect with a barbecue. If you feel it could benefit from bit of air to make it smoother double decant it (i.e. pour it into a jug then back into the bottle. A funnel makes this job easier if you don’t have a steady hand.)

I paid £6.25 for it which I thought was fair enough given that the usual price is £8.29 but Waitrose has told me that the deal is £5.99 and that’s the price on the website. I don’t know if that was an error on the part of the branch or if they bump up the prices in smaller shops* but you might as well save yourself the extra 26p if you can, especially if you're buying more than one bottle.

By the way, if you like ripe, full-bodied reds you might also enjoy the handsomely bottled Tinto da Anfora 2013 from Portugal’s Alentejo region which is on offer at £7.99. But note the vintage on the website is 2011 not 2013 which is the one I'm recommending. Hopefully that's the one you'll find in store.

* I will look into this!