Red wines to get ready for the run-up to Christmas | Alistair Gibson

In the meantime here are some good value red wines that would work well over the festive period and be worth putting in the wine rack now ready for those larger gatherings we may be having this year.

Finest Primitivo Terre di Chieti 2020 (Tesco £7, £6 Clubcard price until November 15) comes from Abruzzo, halfway down Italy, overlooking the Adriatic where the warm climate is ideally suited to the primitivo grape.

There is nothing shy about this wine, it is big and bold with juicy dark fruits and a little spice, followed by a warm, rich mouth-feel loaded with plum fruit. It’s a real crowd pleaser, great value and would be great with a bowl of tomato based pasta.

Bruce Jack Shiraz Malbec 2020, Western Cape(Tesco £7 and on offer £6 from November 15-December 6) is a little more restrained maybe, but certainly over-delivers. Indeed, I am not sure how this well-known winemaker manages to deliver this at this price point.

Dark hedgerow fruits, mocha and pepper on the nose is followed by a ripe palate with more than a nod to chocolate cherries but it manages to avoid ever becoming jammy. This would work with a winter casserole or a homemade burger very well.

Roc Cuvée 2020, Bordeaux (Laithwaites £13.99 or £9.99 when you mix 12 or more) is one of the most interesting wines I’ve tasted this year and not at all what you might expect from Bordeaux starting with the label and then the fact that it’s been bottled in a Burgundy shaped bottle.

This is 100 per cent merlot and it is made in a modern, dare I say it, almost new world, style. There are aromas of dark fruits including cherries and plums as well as liquorice and violets, the palate is generous and supple with a lovely purity of dark fruit and a long, velvety finish.

It’s totally delicious and would be lovely with some roasted root vegetables or a spicy sausage casserole in front of a roaring log fire.

The Frescobaldi family have been making wine in Tuscany for more than 700 years and at a recent tasting of some of their chiantis I was struck by what good value Frescobaldi Castello Nipozzano Chianti Rúfina 2018 (Morrisons £17) is.

Value of course is very subjective but I think this is another wine that over-delivers given its quality and its provenance.

Made mainly from sangiovese and aged in older oak barrels for two years, this has a beautifully perfumed nose with floral notes, some bright red fruits and a touch of spice.

The palate is medium bodied with some fresh acidity, ripe tannins and it has that classic slightly sour cherry finish. Try this with a duck ragout or a rib-eye steak.

A message from the editor, Mark Waldron.

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