THE DRINKER
EAT - DRINK - BE MERRY
WAITROSE CELLAR 2023/4 TOP WINES IN PRICE CATEGORY
SUMMARY
Far more wines recommended here than any of the other major retailers, partly due to the huge number of wines at their tasting and partly due to the brilliance of their wine team in selecting so many great quality and good value wines. This list really has everything including some new Bag in Box wines from Italy, which might look pricey but contain the same amount as three bottles. Also look out for their newly branded and expanding Blueprint and Loved and Found ranges which are pretty much all tip-top.
Please bear in mind that not all of these wines are available in every store - but they can all be found here at Waitrose Cellar where you can do a next day click and collect from any UK store. Prices are subject to variation.
KEY
The reds are written up in this colour
The whites in this colour
Pink in this colour
The fizz in this colour
Fortifieds in this colour
BAG IN BOX WINES remember that you're getting the equivalent of 3 bottles in these and that works out at £8.60 per bottle
When In Rome Nero d'Avola 2.25l £26.99 90
Bags of primary black fruit, nicely made, easy drinking, soft tannins, food wine
The Great Wave Sauvignon Blanc 2.25l £26.49 90
Fantastic wine, really comes alive in the mouth, equivalent of £8.33 a bottle
Maree d'Ione Organic Chardonnay 2.25l £27.49 89
Really doing it, peaches, almond, honeysuckle, citrus, it's all there
Maison du Vin Pays d'Oc Rosé 150cl £15.99 89
Great value, light, fresh rosé, pretty enough and very easy drinking
Up to £10
Waitrose Vibrant and Grassy Chilean White (also on 2.25l box £14.95) £5.49 89
Lovely easy floral sauvignon, delicate nose, touch of gooseberry, fresh
Loved and Found Carignan Blanc - Languedoc £8.99 90
Lemon peel nose, minerality and green apple palate, something tropical too
Loved and Found Sauvignon Gris - Bordeaux £8.99 90
Floral nose, followed by lemon, pineapple, grapefruit and grass on the palate, lots here
Loved and Found Carignan Blanc (fra) £8.99 89
Pure fruit driven wine, expressive green lime and peach, good body, refreshing acidity
Loved and Found Treixadura (spa) £8.99 89
Grassy open nose, pach and pear palate, dry, fresh and light
Le Sauvignon Blanc de Balthazar Languedoc £8.99 90
Green hedgerow, elderflower, some grapefruit, dry, fresh and refreshing
Bodega Norton Torrontes (arg) £8.99 90
Lovely lemon curd nose, soft and tropical, easy drinking and classy
Waitrose No1 Cederberg Chenin Blanc (SA) £8.49 89
Grapefruit and pear nose, racy fresh acidity, light elegant, wonderful
Chateau Tanunda Chardonnay (aus) £9.99 89
Proper old fashioned oaky Aussie chardonnay, rich vanilla and coconut
Mad Fish Sauvignon Blanc (Aus) £9.99 90
Light perfume, lilly of the valley, floral, dry, really well made, subtle sauvignon
Pecorino Terre di Chieti, Abruzzo £8.49 89
Beautiful, fruity number, full and giving, citrus and summer meadow, cracker
Waitrose Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc, Touraine £9.49 90
Really on the money, grassy and lime peel, real typicity, proper Touraine SB
Cuvee Pecheur (Fra) £6.69 87
Simple, uncomplex, gooseberry notes, good price, easy drinker
Secret Cellar Pinot Grigio Western Cape (SA) £8.99 89
Good, well priced, floral nose, tropical fruit palate, beauty
Calvet Sauvignon Blanc (Fra) £9.00 88
Light hint of elderflower, green apple and zest, pleasing body, well priced
Cowrie Bay Chardonnay (NZ) £7.99 89
Melon on nose, good body, tropical and citrus palate, lots of wine at great value
Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc (SA) £8.49 88
Fresh zest sauvignon, not too floral but the right amount of fruit to acidity
Waitrose Blueprint Gavi (Ita) £9.49 89
Good fresh acidity sitting under lovely citrus fruit notes, hint of melon
Waitrose Californian Blueprint Chardonnay (USA) £6.99 92
Soft peachy nose, creamy palate, lovely citrus finish, classy
Fuori Porta Sangiovese Rubicone Ita £9.99 90
Wonderfully expressive, black cherry and plum notes with pleasing vanilla all there, easy tannin
Waitrose Mellow and Fruity Spanish Red £5.49 88
Simple, easy drinking summer BBQ wine, very approachable, great value
Waitrose Loved and Found Touriga Nacional Por £8.99 91
Really well made, intense black fruit and rich tannic structure, herbal finish
Waitrose Loved and Found Barbera Aus £8.99 90
Beautifully silky wine, refined Aussie interpretation of Italian classic
Chateau Tanunda Shiraz Aus £9.99 89
Nothing subtle about this one, whopping fruit character, big tannins and warming alcohol
Loved and Found Pais (chi) £7.99 90
Light/medium body, black pepper spice and black fruit character, really intersting wine
Amandla Shiraz/Zinfandel, Western Cape £9.99 89
Big powerful wine, intense plum, elderberry and black currant, generous stuff
Mont Gras De Vine Reserva Zinfandel (Chi) £8.99 90
Inky wine, blackcurrant, blak pepper, velvety vanilla, full on round and generous
Waitrose Chilean Merlot £7.99 90
Proper BBQ wine, wood smoke and pepper, spiced cedar, full on bramble, robust.
Albert Road Pinot Noir (SA) £9.99 90
Beautiful pale looking pinot noir, elegant, supple, subtle. Light red fruit and an earthy undercurrant.
Cowrie Bay Merlot, Hawke's Bay NZ £9.99 90
Open fruity nose, bramble and blueberry, soft on palate, easy drinking, value
Chateau Capendu La Comelle Corbieres £8.99 90
Little hint of wet earth, big wine, blackcurrant, bold fruit and tar with a warming finish
Heredad del Rey Monastrell/Syrah Seleccion Reservada, Yecla £6.99 88
Soft spiced bramble nose, good fruit driven red, well priced, mouthwatering finish
Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, California £9.99 89
Spiced cinamon and pepper, light violet, big but refined, hot finish
Cantina Segreti Castelao Por £8.99 90
Tobacco, spice and pepper nose, red/black fruit palate, intense, toward chocolate
Triade Rosso Negroamaro/Primitivo/Nero di Troia (Ita) £9.99 90
Black cherry nose, ripe easy tannins, good full on fruit, really big and interesting wine
Maree d'Ione Nero di Trioa, Puglia £9.99 90
Generous black cherry palate and bold use of oak, mouthwatering stuff
Sous le Soleil du Midi Merlot (Fra) £6.99 89
Everyday drinking, forward fruit, soft tannin, make a great party wine
Waitrose Blueprint Cotes du Rhone Villages £8.49 90
Lovely soft, sweet, ripe black fruit, floral notes, intense with lovely firm tannins
Loved and Found Sciaccarellu, Corsica, France £8.99 90
Beautiful wine, dancing with raspberry and peach, fresh, dry, pretty
L'Arene des Agnes Costieres de Nimes £9.99 90
Dry, floral, stone fruit to the fore, smashing wine
La Cerisa Rosa Pinot Grigio Rosé £8.99 89
Soft crushed raspberry nose, fresh and dry, looks fab, drinks well
Laurent Miquel Vendages Nocturne Cinsault Syrah £9.99 89
Lovely elegant, easy drinking rosé, red berry driven, elevated and fresh
Waitrose Blueprint Prosecco £7.99 88
Soft and interesting, light peach, fresh acidity, great value
Loved and Found Passerina (Italy) £9.99 89
Peach, red apple and pear, orchard central, beautiful
Up to £15
Reyneke Organic Cab/Merlot, Stellenbosch (SA) £10.99 90
Classy Bordeaux nose, green pepper, black pepper, spice, forward fruit, integrated tannins
Monte Majone Chianti Cla £11.99 89
Lots of spice and oak, balanced with forward fruit, lovely wine
Bosman Pinot Noir, South Africa £14.99 93
Fabulous Christmas Day wine, floral, peppery, fruity, lots going on, complex
Norton Winemaker's Reserve Malbec, Mendoza £13.99 91
Complex nose, hay loft and baking bread, ripe and savoury, really intriguing wine
Yalumba Galway Shriaz, Barossa Valley £12.99 90
Eucalyptus and black cherry, inky, black currant leaf, long hot finish
The Hedonist Shiraz (Aus) £14.99 91
Tobacco, spice and black pepper, full on powerful stuff but elegant with it
Saint Clair Syrah, Hawkes Bay £12.99 90
Very classy, lots of oak but not over-dominant, black fruit, complex and balanced
Waitrose Blueprint White Burgundy (Fra) £10.99 89
Green apple and peach blossom nose, light oak, buttery, lovely
Yalumba Organic Viognier (Aus) £10.99 92
Hint of blossom, floral nose, good minerality, clean lines, crisp, great value
Waitrose Vina Taboexa Albarino £10.99 90
Beautiful zesty wine, lively citrus, touch of apricot white stone fruit, mineral finish
Maree d'Ione Organic Fiano £10.99 89
Classy wine at the price, light and easy drinking, lovely tropical palate, mango and pineapple
Gerard Bertrand Naturae Chardonnay Languedoc £10.99 90
Supple wine, dry, easy, creamy, citrus and blossom, worth every penny
Frei Brothers Sonoma Reserve Chardonnay £18.99 91
Green apple, grass, vanilla and pear, lovely creamy texture, lots of wine here a proper treat
Saint Clair Gimblet Gravels Viognier £14.99 91
A perfect wine, balance, poice, subtlety, spiced stone fruit, peach and white pepper
Domaine Zafeirakis Malagousia (Gre) £14.99 90
Malagousia is new grape to me, really well crafted, citrus, almond blossom, super drop
The Ned Pinacle, Sauvignon Blanc (NZ) £12.99 91
Really top drop, Marlborough Sauvignon but with restraint, elegant, fruity, elevated wine
Ara Single Vineyard Pinot Gris, Marlborough £11.99 90
Beautiful delicate wine, hoeyed peach and lime peel, fresh and very classy
Boschendal Chardonnay SA £11.99 93
Heavy, classy bottle, nice use of oak, vanilla and flint, good fruit, super wine
San Leo Rosato (ita) £10.49 90
Light raspberry nose, persistent mousse, soft in mouth, great value
Le Grand Ballon Rosé (Fra) £10.99 89
Easy drinking rose, hint of redcurrant, refreshing acidity
Over £15
Croix des Coteau St Emillion 2019 £15.99 92
Lots of spice and oak, balanced with forward fruit, lovely wine, v v good
Orovela Saperavi (Geo) £17.49 88
Big damson and plum, heavyweight wine in heavyweight bottle
Blason du Rhone Chateauneuf du Pape £25.99 90
Generous spice, black pepper and cedar, subtle fruit but powerful, mouthwatering stuff
Blason du Rhone Gigondas £24.99 90
Ripe blueberry and hot tar on the nose, inky, deep, warming, mouthwatering stuff
Penfolds Max's Chardonnay £19.99 91
Wonderful peach and pear, good body, something pleasingly yeasty, top drop
Chablis Esprit de Chablis Fra £17.99 89
Beautiful mineral nose, lime and grass, very well made, keeps on giving
Jansz Premium Cuvee Pipers River, Tasmania £18.49 91
Grassy and green apple nose, classy very well made wine, great value
