Top 10 wines in the UK press

2013 Les Jamelles Reserve Mourvèdre

This week’s roundup is kicked off with some top picks from Anthony Rose at The Independent. “Catherine Delaunay’s Jamelles brand often throws up a bargain, and this fresh, spicy red fits that bill,” he writes, recommending this as the perfect “night-in” wine.

£6.49, down from £7.49, until Tuesday, The Co-op

2014 Santa Julia Reserva Uco Valley Malbec

“The fragrant aromatics and opulent dark cherry flavours of this succulent high Andes Malbec are fine indeed”, he says of this “dinner party” pour.

£10, Sainsbury’s

2014 Mâcon-Villages, Louis Jadot, Burgundy, France

Next, the Daily Mail‘s Matthew Jukes declares his love for “masterful, firm, accurate white Burgundy.

“In this form the great white grape Chardonnay excels. With little fat and more nervy, sinewy citrus and tart apple notes, this is an epic white for fish dishes and creamy sauces,” he says.

£11.99, The Strand Wine Co

2014 Secano Estate, Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda Valley, Chile

Continuing with another “flashy wine” for festive celebrations, Jukes writes: “Sauvignon Blanc should always make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and this wine doesn’t disappoint.

“The zesty, lean and tangy asparagus, lime and cut grass notes are sublime. Light, impactful and aromatic, this is a magical white wine and it makes a thrilling, palate-cleansing aperitif.”

£9.00, Marks & Spencer

Finest Chablis Premier Cru 2011, Burgundy, France

The Telegraph wine writer Susy Atkins chooses her favourite winter whites this week, kicking off with this, “a white Burgundy but, as so often from Chablis, more subtle than some.

“With toasty hints, lively orchard  fruit and a rounded finish, this is one for a salmon starter,” she writes.

Tesco, £12

Bellingham The Bernard Series Viognier 2015, Western Cape, South Africa

One Off Chardonnay 2014, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

And thirdly, Atkins chooses this New Zealand wine that expresses the “fresh but ripe” style of Chardonnay one would expect from the “cool but sunny climate”.

“Check out the buttery, succulent peach and pineapple here for the festive turkey,” she writes.

Farflung Wines, £13.99

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Priorat, Spain 2013

Our final contributor to this week’s roundup, The Guardian‘s David Williams, has been on the lookout for “a big, brawny bear-hug of a red. Fleshy, full-bodied and unfashionably, unashamedly high in alcohol, these will be wines produced to be warming.

“Something about the old-vine Grenache and Carignan found basking on precipitous terraced slopes of rocky quartz and slate in Priorat in Catalonia is perfectly suited to this style, with examples such as Sainsbury’s very good and (for this part of the world) well-priced own-label offering not just density, chewy texture and sweet brambly fruit, but a hard-to-define rocky mineral quality”, he enthuses.

£10, Sainsbury’s

Domaine Jérôme Gradassi Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France 2013

“It takes winemaking skill, as well as old vines, to make wines that are intense but drinkable,” Williams continues. “The balanced best of the southern Rhône valley, such as ex-Michelin chef Jérôme Gradassi’s vivid 2013, have an all-embracing juicy amplitude and herby, spicy fragrance that is truly evocative of Provence.”

£23.50, Stone Vine

Viñalba Malbec Syrah, Patagonia, Argentina 2013

And finally, Williams says that Argentine winemakers have “sometimes been guilty of giving their Malbec grapes too much sun, leading to clumsy, clumpy wines that taste of boozy kirsch and the sweet vanilla and toast of oak barrels”.

“It’s a shame,” he continues, “because those that manage to catch the grapes at the right point on their ripening curve produce some of the most appealing, sensuous reds in the world, their plump cherry and plum balanced by floral freshness.

“Most of the best Argentinian malbec comes from Mendoza… and Domaine Viñalba’s blend with a little Syrah, pull off the sumptuous trick in Patagonia, too, in the deepest south.”

£8.98, Asda