What is bang-for-buck wine?

The Bang 

…happens when a wine that favourably impacts your senses. It does not have to be obvious or powerful, the proverbial 2 x4 to the cranium, but is a recognition of intrinsic quality of a wine that is good wine in itself, regardless of the price it happens to be.

Your Buck

We live in a world in which we constantly compare one product with another, examine costs, and assess relative value-for-money. Any wine, even expensive ones, may theoretically be worth the bucks that are charged for them. For this purpose, however, I have selected wines that would normally retail at under £25 – or sell at £60 or below on any restaurant wine list with reasonable margins. Another way of looking at it, these wines that we import at a cost between €4-€6. 

It is important to note the numerous causes of wine price inflation: taxes (duty, the cost of raising documents); increased transport and dried goods costs (glass in particular); spiralling rises in the cost of storage, delivery and wages. These being artisan rather than mass-produced wines with the focus on the farming and small-batch winemaking, we’ve had to work closely with our producers to ensure that we can maintain competitive selling prices without compromising quality.

Criteria for inclusion in the list below is that the wines must be from organically farmed vineyards, fermented with their own yeasts and contain no additives other than a small/proportionate amount of sulphites. This is the minimum requirement and many of the wines below are also farmed according to biodynamic and regenerative principle and several contain no added sulphites.

Our bang for buck recommendations: whites

2024 Mielie Green Chenin, Testalonga, Swartland

If you enjoy aromas and flavours of dry honey and cinnamon in your Chenin then Mielie Green is for you. Dry-farmed vines from two vineyards (one 50+ years-old) with grapes whole bunch pressed into tank and barrel. A more relaxed, even mellow, style of wine from Craig, less on the nervous tension and more on the warmth.

2022 Cara Sur Pergolas Criollas Blancas, Calingasta, Argentina

This white is produced from a blend including Torrontés Sanjuanino and Mendocino as well as other Criolla varieties from old pergola vines (planted between 1920 – 1970) from multiple tiny family vineyards in Barreal and Hilario on alluvial soils. The highest vineyards are some 1,600 metres above sea level. The juice is fermented with some skins for 21 days or so, and matured in concrete, wherein the wine develops a flor (a film or veil of yeast). The resultant wine is tasty, stony and mineral, with the extra complexity in the mouth care of the flor.

2024 Lo P’tit Fantet d’Hippolyte, Pierre Bories, Corbières

This delicious blend of four Mediterranean grape varieties (Roussanne, ca Marsanne, Grenache Blanc & Gris) ticks boxes on terroir flavours (rocks and herbs), texture and freshness too. A firm favourite with our customers.

2023 Selection Massale Pinot Gris, Marlborough, New Zealand

The Selection Massale project from Dan Gillett showcases varietal wines made with minimal intervention in New Zealand. There is more than a nod to Alsace in this version of Pinot Gris which is light gold in colour, and  brimming with citrus, stonefruit and just a hint of toasted almond. The palate is light, dry and refreshing but the flavours are concentrated, and the finish saline and persistent.

2024 Folle Blanche, PM & Marie Luneau, Pays Nantais

One for lovers (as we are) of the underdog/ugly duckling varieties. This is Gros Plant by another name, the product of biodynamic farming methods and strict yields. No acid freakery here however! Delicate nose of citrus and white flowers greets you, then a freshness on the palate and a salty, iodine tinged character. A touch of prickliness from the lees and a crisp lemony finish completes the ensemble. If you can’t afford Muscadet…

2023 Ottavio Rube Bianco, Valli Unite, Piemonte

Cortese (with a snippet of Timorasso in this case) if it is not called Gavi di Gavi, and if handled in the right way, can make banging affordable wines. The Valli Unite co-op work their vineyards according to biodynamic precepts and respecting traditional farming practices. This little white conveys a mix of summer flowers, yellow plums and wild herbs held together by racy minerals. Drink whilst listening to Marillion’s The Man from Planet Marzipan.

2024 Vino Blanco Finca Casa Balaguer, Andres Carull, Alicante

30% Merseguera, 30% Malvasía, 20% Moscatel de Alejandría, 10% Tortosí & 10% Verdil. indigenous varieties hailing from the mountain vineyards of Alicante. Once harvested, each variety is fermented separately in small batch concrete tanks before assembling. Deep gold (care of the portions of skin contact), displaying stone fruit and citrus on the nose with hints of white jasmine. The palate is fresh and light, developing a Mediterranean characteristic of fennel and eucalyptus. Medium bodied with a long finish the wine expresses a truly authentic Mediterranean personality.

2024 El Pinto Palomino, Hacienda La Parilla, Tierra de la Cadiz

This wine is 100% Palomino-by-the-sea. Organically farmed grapes are fermented spontaneously and bottled without filtration or fining. Bright golden yellow, aromatically suggestive of dried apples and yellow cherries, El Pinto has bonny acidity, chalky minerality and the requisite saline lick on the finish. An appealing intro to this variety.

2023 TWR Sauvignon, Marlborough, New Zealand

Anna and Jason Flowerday’s much lauded (and awarded) winery in Renwick, Marlborough. Marlborough Savvy, as they call it New Zealand, has become a restaurant-list cliché that it is easy to forget that some producers work diligently to create versions which are much more than identikit mass-produced yeasted varietals. 100% Sauvignon Blanc (67% Awatere Valley, 33% Wairau Valley – Flowerday family & Te Whare Ra vineyard). Renowned for their Rieslings and other aromatic varieties (from some of the oldest vineyards in the Wairau), Anna and Jason also make an exemplary Sauvignon. Light straw colour and a very appealing, fragrant bouquet of gooseberry, fresh herbs and passionfruit – a Marlborough style nose, with distinctive Awatere characters of guava, white currant and elderflower. These follow through to the palate – which is fine and soft with lots of fleshy fruit balanced by a ripe, juicy acidity.

2023 Masieri Bianco, La Biancara, Veneto

Masieri Bianco is the baby Garganega from the Maule stable. This is modern natural winemaking, if you will. Attentive farming and precise winemaking, intervening only as necessary. Fresh and direct nose. Green apple, hay & ripe grapes dominant. The mouth focuses on its acidity that supports the fruit and gives a slight freshness. A pleasingly simple wine that’s lively and mineral and very satisfying. A great alternative to Soave Classico.

2022 Miranius, Celler Credo, Penedès

Miranius is the name of the clever fox who ventures into the vineyard and is delighted by the sweet aromas of the grapes therein. It is also the name of an excellent 100% Xarel.lo made by the team at Celler Credo in the eastern Penedes, whose credo (pun intended) is that by observation and sensitive farming (biodynamics) they will rediscover the flavours of the  wines of their ancestors. This Xarel.lo speaks so clearly of vines with their feet in limestone soils. It’s fresh and apple-skins-y with a hint of gunflint reduction.

2023 Muscadet sur lie, Domaine de la Pepière

Great farming maketh the wine. The team at Domaine de la Pepière harvest nettles, comfrey and horsetail along the Maine River and use these plants by steeping them, fermenting them, or in the form of decoctions. Biodynamic preparations are used to reinforce the vines against disease and help the micro-biological life of the soils. The whole estate is certified in organic viticulture and is in transition to a biodynamic certification. Here we have a  great little Muscadet – lemony, stony and bracing on the palate with crunchy apple fruit, shell notes and excellent minerality.

2023 Alexanderhof Riesling, Bianka & Daniel Schmitt, Rheinhessen

The grapes for the Riesling Alexanderhof grow in 3 different villages around the winery (Flörsheim-Dalsheim, Monsheim, Kriegsheim). The vineyard work is carried out manually and according to Demeter practices. Grapes are destemmed and pressed into stainless steel and bottled with a touch of sulphites. Peach and pear aroma with citrus finish. Malolactic fermentation gives a harmonious acidity. 

2023 Nord-Sud Blanc, Adelaide Hills, S Australia

Nord-Sud is an Australian wine project from Anna Martens and Eric Narioo – they of Vino di Anna fame on Etna. Blanc itself is a blend of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Fiano & Riesling, vinified separately, all varieties whole-bunch pressed into a mix of stainless tanks and used puncheons, before ageing on the lees, blending and finally bottling without filtration or fining. More than the sum of its various parts, this highly potable white shows plenty of citrus and floral notes on both the nose and palate, has a fresh, lively acidity balanced by a flavoursome palate, with subtle mineral undertones. Close your eyes and you could be in Muscadet/Verdicchio/Vermentino country (delete as appropriate).

2024 Grüner Veltliner Handcrafted, MA Arndorfer, Kamptal

This Grüner has become deservedly popular and somewhat of a reference for overdelivering quality and interest at a pocket-friendly price. And it is a bona fide natural wine too. Made from organically-farmed Grüner grapes grown on the loess slopes of Kamptal. Harvested by hand, the majority of the grapes are pressed directly without any maceration (but 6% of the final blend is fermented on the skins for 30 days). Vinification takes place in a mix of large Austrian oval barrels and stainless steel. Golden yellow in colour, the nose is open and suggestive of ripeness with golden apple and pear William aromas. The palate is rich with fleshy fruit and good acidity, sprinkled with fresh herbs, flowers and light pepper tones.

2024 En Route pour L’Apero, Domaine Dupraz, Apremont, Savoie

We’re in the lieu-dit of Le Reposoir in Apremont on east-facing slopes and clay soils. The variety that thrives here is the local Jacquère. Viticulture is organic with all the work carried out by hand. Winemaking is natural with native yeasts in a mix of cement tanks and eggs and demi-muids and futs. Clean with an alpine acidity, notes of juicy pears, green apple. Almost ethereal.

2022 Vino de Pueblo Tres Miradas, Alvear, Montilla

Back in greater Andalucia, this time at altitude on the albariza soils of the Sierra de Montilla. The Tres Miradas project is dedicated to finding the best expression of Pedro Ximenez grapes on the different terroirs in this sub-region. Fermentation of grapes takes place separately for each parcel, in concrete vats, whereupon the wine rests in the same vat on its lees for about eight months until the end of the following spring, under a layer of flor yeast. Golden wine redolent of apples, nuts and dried ginger with a good lick of acidity.

2023 Bourgogne-Aligoté, Domaine Goisot, Auxerre

A beautiful Aligoté from old vines on different calcareous clay parcels farmed biodynamically. The fermentation (with native yeasts) is long and slow to preserve the voice of the terroir. A light golden colour, with brilliant green highlights. On the nose it reveals fine notes of hawthorn, green and yellow pear and hazelnut. The palate has aromas of small white flowers and spices. A brilliant Chablis alternative.

2024 Attention Cabernet Franc, Nicolas Reau, Anjou, Loire

If you have ever woken up in the middle of night wondering what Cabernet Franc would taste like if straight-pressed, then wonder no longer. This playful Blanc de Noir is fermented in barrel and aged in tank. It is bright and crunchy and tastes straightly like still champagne (in a good sense!)

2023 Le Oche Bianco, Fattoria San Lorenzo, Marche

The Marche region produces outstanding value wine, and I could have included the incisive Verdicchio di Matelica from Colle Stefano or any of the whites from Ciu Ciu, not to mention the baby brother Di Gino Marche Bianco from Fattoria San Lorenzo. Le Oche is from a biodynamically-farmed single vineyard (called “Vigna delle Oche”), composed of mineral-rich chalk and clay soils. The site sits at 380m asl and faces south-west. What gives this wine its gorgeous texture is a very long ambient ferment in cement, followed by a further 12 months on the lees and another period in bottle.  Brilliant straw yellow, Le Oche has a floral and cooking spice aromas with notes of acacia, pear, almonds, elderflower and lime and a long finish with flavours of dry honey.

2024 Vin Blanc Clos du Tue-Boeuf, Touraine, Loire

The Puzelat family came out of the Touraine appellation in 2020 and began focusing their attention on making negoce wines from grapes grown organically (although not necessarily certified) in the region. The Vin Blanc is one such example from young Sauvignon Blanc vines, the juice naturally fermented in stainless and fibreglass vats, and aged for six months on the lees. Exhilarating wine.

2023 Judith Beck Weissburgunder, Burgenland, Austria

Weissburgunder thrives in various parts of Austria, where it makes wines that are substantial and excellent alternatives to Chardonnay. Judith adheres to biodynamic principles in the vineyards which are warmed by the Pannonian air off central Europe. Grapes are whole bunch pressed and fermentation and ageing is in old acacia barrels which seem to lend some waxiness richness to the final wine. Refreshing aromas of citrus, pears and white peaches. The palate is full-bodied and well-structured with balanced fruit and acidity, the finish long and the ageing potential good.

2024 Roussette de Savoie, Domaine Bruno Lupin, Savoie

Bruno Lupin has become very much associated with Roussette de Savoie (as it is called locally, otherwise known as Altesse) which he farms and makes in the small commune of Frangy in Savoie. He makes several iterations of this grape, but this is fermented and aged simply in tank, and is oh-so-pure and direct, that mouthful of glacial freshness that you are secretly yearning for.

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Interested in finding out more about the wines mentioned? Contact us directly:

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