Audacia Godello 2012, Les Trois Amis, Valdeorras

I don’t often get the chance to taste wines from the northern supermarket chain Booth’s but fell hook, line and sinker for this gorgeous Spanish white they served at their pre-Christmas lunch this week.

It’s a Godello from the Valdeorros region of north-western Spain made by three winemaker friends* (hence Les Trois Amis) and is a glorious citrus-burst of wine though softer, richer and less aggressive than many sauvignon blancs.

It was a brilliant match with a ‘shrimp crumpet’ (a crumpet topped with buttery Morecombe Bay shrimps, a poached egg and hollandaise) but would be great with pretty well anything fishy, especially prawns.

The particularly good news is that although it’s normally £15.49** Booth’s has a 3 for the price of 2 offer on wines over £10 currently so you could get it for £10.33 plus another 5% off it you buy six bottles of wine in total. The offer applies in store only until October 7th so lucky you if you have a Booth’s near you!

* Dominique Roujou de Boubée, Laura Montero and Franck Massard

** Berry Brothers match this price if you buy a case of 12 but charge £17.19 for a single bottle.

Les Perles de Jones Carignan Gris, Côtes Catalanes

This week’s Wine Society tasting was, as always, impressive but there’s one wine I’d urge you to buy now, despite the £16 price tag, as I suspect there isn't much of it.

It’s made from the incredibly rare Carignan Gris of which there are apparently only 2 ha in France and Katie Jones of Domaine Jones is the woman who has her hands on them.

Although related to its red counterpart* it's a delicious, characterful dry white with a marked herby edge which buyer Marcel Orford-Williams aptly recommends with “a few shellfish or maybe some mussels” (mussels would be perfect). And unlike the majority of Roussillon whites it’s only 12.5%

I’ve written about Katie Jones’ wines before. She went to France over 20 years ago to head up sales and marketing for Le Cave de Mont Tauch, the co-op in Fitou but ended up going native and becoming a winemaker. Her other white, Jones Blanc, a more typical grenache gris (£14.95 at the Wine Society) is also a great buy

* it’s a colour mutation according to Jancis Robinson et al’s invaluable Wine Grapes

Gaintza Txakoli 2013

If you dread pronouncing wine names and steer away from flute shaped bottles you may want to give this wine a wide berth if you see it on the shelf but put your prejudices aside - it’s well worth a try.

In fact it’s not sweet but bone dry, a racy blend of Hondarrabi Zuri, Hondarrabi Beltza and Gros Manseng (no, that doesn’t make it much easier does it?) that’s produced in a wine region called Getariako Txakolina just inland from the Bay of Biscay. (The name is Basque*)

It’s virtues are that it’s only 11% and tastes like a squeeze of fresh lemon juice which makes it brilliant with shellfish, obviously, but also more surprisingly with the powerful, punchy flavours of Ottolenghi’s food with which I was trying it yesterday, especially a dish of quinoa cakes with Salbitxada, a Catalan roast pepper, tomato, garlic and almond sauce. Like Portugal's Vinho Verde it also has a slight spritz.

You can buy it (oddly) on Amazon for £33.21 a case of 3 (£11.07 a bottle) or from independent merchants such as Corks of Cotham in Bristol for £11.99. Marks & Spencer also has one, the Alais Txakoli, for £11.99

Read more about the region and the producer on importer Liberty Wines website.

(Pronounce it Chuckle-lee*)

Berry Bros & Rudd Reserve Red

Only a merchant with a pedigree like Berry Bros & Rudd could consider an £8.45 bottle a ‘house wine’ but if your usual fare is classed growth claret I guess it is.

And they’ve managed to come up with three very appealing wines in their new ‘Reserve’ range. The wines come from their existing supplier, Jean-Luc Terrier who is based in the Limoux area of the Languedoc.

I particularly like the deliciously warm, juicy Rhone-ish red which is based on Merlot with a dash of Syrah and Grenache (the Syrah particularly comes through). It’s hard to think of a type of food with which it wouldn’t appeal but it would be especially good with roasts, grills, pies, sausages and robust pasta dishes.

The Reserve White, a blessed relief from pure Sauvignon, is based on the excellent chardonnay of the Limoux region given an intriguingly musky spin with some Sauvignon Blanc, Mauzac and Vermentino. I immediately thought 'fish pie' when I tasted it.

And the pale, salmon pink Reserve Rosé, mainly Cinsault and Syrah with a smattering of Grenache and Mourvèdre is refreshingly dry with far more 'bite' than the typical Provencal rosé. The ideal wine to drink with seared salmon or tuna.

I also approve of the 13% ABV of all the wines - enough to give them character without being over-alcoholic.

These are reliable, crowd-pleasing but far from bland wines that really show off what the Languedoc has to offer. Given that BBR has the royal warrant I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Queen didn’t have some in her cellar.

* Although all the wines, as I’ve mentioned, are £8.45 you pay only £7.60 if you buy an unsplit case of 12. Which is a bit of no-brainer.