party wine list & event guide

2017

Here at Taurus Wines we have over fourteen years of experience supplying weddings, celebrations and parties throughout the Surrey Hills and beyond.

Over the years we’ve identified our best-selling party wines and have produced this list as a time-saving summary. Plus, read on for our expert advice on how to

choose the right wine and how much to order for your special occasion.

What wine should I choose? This is the fun bit! Feel free to browse through our entire selection of wines, Champagnes and spirits online at www.tauruswines.co.uk, or flick through these pages and see what our other customers have enjoyed at their parties. Don’t be afraid of trying something from a less well-known producer – everyone knows the big brands (and their prices) and you might find that something made in smaller quantities, with more care, is more appropriate for your party. Please feel free to ask us for advice – but don’t over-think it; if you think it tastes good then you’re onto a winner.

How much will I need? This depends on your type of party. For a drinks party, allow one glass of wine or fizz per person per 20 minutes for the first hour, and thereafter one glass every half an hour. So, for a two-and-a-half hour party you’ll need six glasses per person (i.e. one bottle). For a seated lunch or dinner you will generally need about half a bottle per person. In summer it tends to be a split of two-thirds white to one-third red wine, and in the winter it’s equal quantities of each.

I’m buying a lot of wine, will I get a discount? We offer a discount on wines bought by the case and for a large order we can negotiate further discounts for you. If you’d like to make use of our full service package or would rather buy your wine on a sale or return basis, then

unfortunately we can’t offer more than the case discount displayed in this list. A full service package will, however, include delivery of the wine, glasses and any ice in your order, plus pick-up of glasses and empty bottles – saving you time and money.

How does sale or return work? Sale or return is when we agree to take back unused bottles after your party and refund you their cost. This is limited to 25% of any one item and is by prior arrangement and only on current

vintages. We’re happy to accept the return of part cases, as long as the bottles are in their original boxes and in saleable condition (i.e. with the labels undamaged). Champagne and white wine bottles lose their labels, and are unreturnable, if chilled in ice buckets; avoid this by wrapping them in water-proof bin bags first. They’ll chill just as fast and can then be returned unscathed.

How do we chill our wines if there are too many bottles for our fridge? We can lend you an Eski cool box that can fit up to 40 bottles – plus ice – and will chill your wines to perfect temperature in only 20 minutes. For events with more than 250 guests hiring a refridgerated trailer might be more practical. Don’t rely on using the one your caterer (if you’re having one) uses – all the food and wine just won’t fit in! We can recommend contacts for refridgerated trailers; prices start from £150 for a weekend.

Are these your most reasonably priced wines? Generally, yes. Although we have fine wines at very good prices for what they are, these are what we would call our ‘house’ wines. These wines are actually harder for us to source; low profit margins and high taxation mean that many vineyards prefer not to make ‘cheaper’ wines. Finding decent wines at affordable prices is hard, but there’s still no excuse for the vinegary whites and tannin-heavy reds that some bars and restaurants come up with as their house wines. Our wines mainly come from farmers’ co-operatives, rather than grand châteaux, at least ensuring that you’re not paying for the château owner’s manicured lawns and elaborate rose gardens. We also mainly sell screw-top wine for parties as as this level – or indeed any level – a screw-cap closure is the best possible defence against the possibility of ‘corked’ wines.

Why don’t you sell anything cheaper? Except for the occasional bin end, we don’t sell anything at £5 or under any more. A bottle of wine selling at £4.99 now contains only 17p to 20p’s worth of wine. This is because excise duty and VAT now comes to £3 per £4.99 bottle. Shipping to the UK costs up to £1 per bottle, while production costs add their

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toll; but very quickly it’s easy to see how little profit there is for the producer and merchant. Wines genuinely sold at this price are probably best avoided, for obvious reasons. A bottle priced at £7.99, however, will have the same production, shipping and duty costs, and a tax burden increasing to only £3.51 due to increased VAT. This means the value of the wine in a £7.99 bottle is £2 – that means you get about ten times the quality for a spend of just £3 more per bottle!

Do you sell organic wines? Next to some wines in the list you will see the symbol for Environmentally Aware. These will either be sustainably produced or organic wines. We do have many more organic and bio-diverse wines in our selection, however the increased

production costs will inevitably put up retail costs, making them harder to pitch at the ‘party wine’ level.

Do you sell barrels of beer? We have a fantastic range of local beers available by the bottle and barrel. Check out our English Wines, Beers, Ciders and Spirits Guide for the full range that we offer. Our relationship with the local breweries means that we sell their beers at the same cost as they do, and ordering through us means a more cohesive service for you. If you order a barrel or firkin, one of our staff will deliver it along with your wine and make sure it’s all working in situ on the day of your party.

What happens if we’ve paid for the wine, but our wedding has to be postponed or cancelled?

Should a paid order be cancelled for reasons beyond your control we will, where practical, offer a credit note. We’ll try to be as reasonable as possible and handle things on a case by case basis (no pun intended). Some wedding insurance policies cover all deposits – it may be better for you to simply claim from the insurance company.

What do we do about corkage costs at our venue?

Some caterers and wedding venues ask for a corkage charge of typically £10-£15 per bottle if you’re providing the wine. This is always painful, particularly if the caterer is serving the drink in your own home. They’re often open to negotiation, though, or will exchange corkage for a flat fee to cover the bar staff’s time. It’s also worth checking the small print of the contract – does it stipulate the bottle size? If not, using magnums (twice the size of

normal bottles) will halve your corkage bill. If the wedding is taking place at a venue where corkage is being charged, ask the best man or an usher to ask the front of house manager if he can inspect the empty bottles, leftovers and corks afterwards, just to make sure the caterer can count…

Any other top tips?

Here are some tried-and-tested ideas to help you personalise your big day and also save yourselves time, money and trouble.

Alternative drinks can make a reception more memorable. Kir Impérial (sparkling wine with a drop of framboise) is the perfect summer drink and looks lovely with some tiny wild strawberries in the glass. In winter, mulled wine or Winter Pimm’s (a brandy-based tipple, mixed with warm apple juice) fills the air with a festive atmosphere. Mojitos and vibrant Apperol spritzes are recent big hits, or simply add a pretty, edible hibiscus flower that will bloom in the bottom of each Champagne glass.

If you’re lucky with the weather, don’t let the red wine sit on the tables in direct sunlight. Beaujolais should be slightly chilled (11°-13°C) and all other reds served at up to 18°C. More than this means hot, harsh-tasting wine that no one will enjoy drinking.

If you’re having speeches alongside a cake or dessert, serve a demi-sec Champagne or prosecco for the toasts as the sweetness of the pud will make a dry Champagne taste sharp.

Give the non-drinkers a break from water – our Cornish Orchards soft drinks are delicious and come in a variety of flavours including Elderflower Pressé, Pressed Apple Juice and Lemonade. We can also supply you with any sort of fruit juice, so drivers can join in the fun with a fruit punch or mocktail.

If you’re having Champagne, it’s best to use a classic flute. Wide, shallow coup-style glasses look beautiful, but let Champagne go flat easily (and make it easier to spill). Modern flutes with hollow stems might look trendy but the Champagne itself can quickly become warmed by the drinker’s hand.

Don’t forget the ushers! A bottle of wine or whisky in a wooden box, a Cuban cigar or a decanter can all make ideal thank you gifts – and we can deliver them all with your wine.

Most importantly, we hope you enjoy your event! And don’t forget that we can supply glasses, cool boxes and ice - and organise delivery. On

larger orders we’ll even collect the leftovers and empties. Just ask one of our staff members for more details.

champagne and sparkling

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Cipriano Prosecco ‘Spago’ (Italy) SORBottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49Wonderfully Italian in attitude, this Prosecco uses a flanged cork (i.e. requiring a corkscrew), and is pressured at just 2.4 bar, meaning it's technically defined by EU law as a still wine - so it only pays the cheaper rate of still wine duty! Not only is this Prosecco great on its own, but try adding about one third peach juice to make a Belini worthy of Harry’s bar.

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Dolci Colline Prosecco Brut (Italy) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49Forget the thin, confected, sugary stuff that’s so often passed off as a cheap Champagne alternative, this Prosecco is a fresh, light and gently fruity fizz from northeast Italy (Veneto), with plenty of citrus and green apple flavours that are ideal to enjoy as an aperitif. This Prosecco differs from the Cipriano Prosecco (see below) in that it is fully sparkling.

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Anna du Cordoníu Ecologica (Spain) SORBottle price £10.99 Case price £10.49All the vineyards from which Codorníu Ecológica is made hold ECO (European Organic Regulation) certification and are located in the Upper Penedés (Parellada and Macabeo) and Central Penedés (Xarel·lo). This is a very traditional cava with Granny Smith apple and almond notes on the nose and a fresh, yet slightly creamy mouthfeel with excellent length.

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Dolci Colline Rosé Spumante (Italy) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49A wonderfully light and refreshing sparkling wine from Italy. This rosé isn’t too sweet and the lively bubbles really make it a fun apéritif. This is a great ‘toasting’ fizz - as the pinkness makes it that little bit sweeter, perfect if you’re serving your toasting wine after pudding.

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Les Domaines Paul Mas Côte Mas Frisant (France)SOR Bottle price £11.99 Case price £11.49This picpoul has the fl oral, fruity charms of Prosecco with the edge of salinity you get from Picpoul de Pinet – delicious with oysters and shellfi sh, or any seafood starter. It’s also a fantastic apéritif sparkler with a light sherbetty mousse that can easily be drunk on its own.

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Champagne Gremillet Brut NV (France) SORBottle price £23.99 Case price £19.99Winner of the International Wine and Spirit Challenge best non-vintage Champagne cup for two years in three, this small family-owned Champagne house punches well above its weight in terms of awards and accolades. Other notable successes include a blind tasting organised by Wine Magazine where it came joint top with Dom Perignon, no less! Super soft and easy to drink, this is a superbly stylish aperitif Champagne.

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Champagne Mandois Brut NV (France) SORBottle price £26.99 Case price £23.99Mandois is now run by Claude Mandois, the 5th generation of the Mandois family to make Champagne from the family estate of 35 hectares of organically cultivated vineyards in the village of Pierry, near Epernay. Mandois is described in the Christie’s Encyclopedia of Champagne as producing “elegant Champagnes which have a satisfying length of attractive creamy fruit...presenting great value.” We completely agree.

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Look out for...

Taurus Wines Shipped Direct This is a wine we ship directly from the vineyard cutting out the middle man and his costs.

Natural Product This wine is either organic or made in a natural way.

SOR Sale or return available With prior agreement you can return up to 25% of this product if you end up not using all of it at your party.

Screwcap This bottle has an easy-open screwcap - no corkscrew required!

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crisp, dry whitesPrincipato, Pinot Grigio (Italy) SORBottle price £6.99 Case price £6.49This delightfully fresh, soft and lime fl avoured Pinot Grigio remains our top selling white by a country mile - so much so , that we call it “Surrey Water” (with our tongues left fi rmly in our cheeks). A typically easy going glass of white that's also, like all Italian whites, highly enjoyable with food.

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Louis Latour Macon-Lugny (France) SORBottle price £10.99 Case price £9.99A well-loved old favourite. This is a classic dry Burgundy from the Mâcon region, which makes Burgundy’s most approachable and certainly best-value white wines. This has all the hallmarks of good white Burgundy: a mix of ripe lemon, pear and apple fl avours with a fi nish that tastes a little like honey on toast. Where this wine really shines is accompanying food – an excellent match for any posh fi sh that isn’t too spicy.

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Ponte Pietra, Trebbiano/Garganega (Italy) SORBottle price £7.49 Case price £6.99This is the house white at Jamie’s Italian in Guildford (£4.25 a glass - the cheeky chappie). Trebbiano is the classic grape of Soave and is accented here with a little splash of the highly aromatic Garganega, resulting in lovely green apple and almond blossom aromas, with a crisp, limey palate. Named as a Wine of the Month in Decanter Magazine, who said: ‘‘One of the best aff ordable wines to snap up and drink now.’’

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Bella Modella La Farfalla Pinot Grigio (Italy) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49This light and refreshing Pinot Grigio is as good on its own as with piccante grilled prawns on a summer evening! It’s zesty, with a defi nite citrus hit, but light and easy-to-drink too, making it a great apéritif. We also stock the incredibly popular Bella Modella Pinot Grigio Blush - fi nd its description in the rosé section.

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Gavi La Luciana (Italy) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49Gavi is an enduring Italian classic – often more fl avour-packed than Pinot Grigio, always with softer acidity and more often than not, the same price as “PG”. What’s not to like? This is a great wine for easy-drinking by itself (due to that soft acidity), yet its pear and red apple fruit fl avours go fantastically well with fi sh, seafood and even mild Thai fl avours. Versatility, good value and interest all in one go – this is the stylishly cute Fiat bubble car of Italian wines.

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Montevista Unwooded Chardonnay (Chile) SORBottle price £6.99 Case price £6.49A dry, fresh Chardonnay. Untouched by oak, truly varietally fl avoured and appealing with ripe tropical fruit fl avours and a smooth, soft fi nish. Serve with rich or creamy pork dishes, fresh fi sh or salads. Made by Emilina, one of Chile’s best wine producers in our opinion.

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l’Ormarine Picpoul de Pinet (France) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49Nicknamed ‘la bomba’ for having such incredible fruit and zest in a white wine from this far south. Exuberantly fresh on the palate with ripe mango fruit fl avours, a slightly salty edge and underlying mineral characters with a very long fi nish, this is a brilliant example of a superb local grape varietal grown on the right terroir.

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Jean-Luc Colombo Picpoul de Pinet (France) SORBottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49On the nose this is a rich, but subtle wine with fresh notes of white fl owers. On the palate it's a rounded, well-structured wine that's great with mild creamy cheeses and white fi sh, shellfi sh and meat, as well as being an excellent apéritif wine. It's vegan, too. The grape harvest in 2013 was of excellent quality thanks to the warm breezes that swept up from the Mediterranean.

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fruity & aromatic whitesCuvée Jean-Paul, Dry White (France) SOR Bottle price £6.49 Case price £5.99The Cuvée Jean-Paul blends have been one of our ‘‘house wines’’ for many years. Known as CJP to friends and fans, the white is a blend of grapes (including Sauvignon Blanc) from the Côtes de Gascogne and it's a deliciously fresh but uncomplicated wine, with a fragrant nose, zesty green fruit fl avours and invigorating fi nish.

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La Forge Marsanne (France) SORBottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49 Marsanne is an indigenous grape of the Languedoc region in France and can make wines of real character. This wine is a delicious, quite full-bodied example, with intense fl avours of peach, ginger and honey. This would make a great match to all sorts of foods and has the body and intensity to stand up particulary well to full fl avoured fi sh dishes.

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Santa Digna Sauvignon Blanc (Chile) SORBottle price £8.49 Case price £7.99Named after the stone crosses (Santa Digna) that not only act as land markers, but also symbolise fortune and prosperity in this part of South America, this wine has aromas of ripe tropical fruits over underlying hints of apple and fennel, with a silky but refreshing palate.

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Bellefontaine, Sauvignon Blanc (France) SORBottle price £6.99 Case price £6.49A Southern French white made by the internationally acclaimed winemaker Paul Boutinot, this is full of the vibrant herbal aromas, rich citrus and grapefruit fl avours and tingling, fresh mouth feel that Sauvignon Blanc fans adore.

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Château de Vallagon Sauvignon Blanc (France) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49The romantic and eye-wateringly beautiful Château de Vallagon lies at the centre of the Loire Valley, surrounded by all the famous castles of the stunning Loir-et-Cher region (also known as the ‘Garden of France’). These are the castles immortalised in the Tintin novels and countless movies. This is a fi ne grassy, herbal Sauvignon Blanc with a subtle underlying minerality that makes it a rival for many a Sancerre.

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False Bay Sauvignon Blanc (South Africa) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49This wine is a refreshing, vibrant and brilliantly good example of South African Sauvignon. The grapes are sourced from some of the best sites across the Cape - a parcel of very aromatic fruit from Durbanville, a small component of richer fl avoured fruit from Paardeberg and a small parcel from the Waterkloof estate in Stellenbosch all combine to give superb freshness and zest.

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Pecorino Colline Pescaresi (Italy) SORBottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49This award-winning wine (by both Decanter magazine and The Wine Merchant magazine) is one of Italy’s increasingly fashionable varieties. It’s delicately fl oral, with stone fruit and citrus aromas that lead on to a palate fi lled with fresh peach notes backed by a textural minerality, nutty characters and crisp acidity. Try it with white fi sh or chicken with grilled peppers.

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Buenos Dias Verdejo (Spain) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.09Elegant pale yellow with green highlights. Aromatically attractive for its tropical fruit notes, with touches of citrus and herbs like fennel and boxwood. From the white-wine-only Rueda region, the heartland of the characterful Verdejo grape, this is a light and fruity dry wine which makes a great accompaniment to fi sh and seafood dishes. Perfect to drink it alone or to accompany seafood, fi sh, even with exotic sauces.

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Taringi Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49 A classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - we can't get enough of the Sauvignon Blancs from this region, with their always distinctive aromas of gooseberry and cut grass. This wine has a beautifully crisp palate with all the green fruit fl avours Marlborough has become famous for and it needs nothing more than a hot, sunny day and some shade to enjoy..

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richer & fuller-flavoured whitesCape Heights, Chenin Blanc (South Africa) SORBottle price £6.99 Case price £6.49A fresh, dry Chenin that displays the classic baked apple, zippy citrus aromas and soft, delicate apple fruit of ripe Chenin Blanc. Other than the Loire, no region grows Chenin at anywhere near the level of quality that they do in South Africa.

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The Accomplice, Chardonnay (Australia) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49Whilst some people regard Aussie Chardonnay to be about as subtle and delicate as the V8 ‘Utes’ driven by many a burly Oz winemaker, Aussie Chardonnay is now a more delicate, subtly oaked wine style. When they throttle back on the oak (like here), the wines are superb value.

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Tabali, Viognier (Chile) SORBottle price £9.49 Case price £8.99Chile makes great value wine and is a superb choice for when you want to try a wine made from a grape variety that you might not have tried before. Viognier might be one of those grapes – it’s notoriously hard to grow and make into wine. But it’s defi nitely worth persevering with Viognier, because it makes a rich, full-bodied, apple and cinnamon-spiced wine that’s downright delicious. Pair this with some roast chicken.

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Look out for...

Taurus Wines Shipped Direct This is a wine we ship directly from the vineyard cutting out the middle man and his costs.

Natural Product This wine is either organic or made in a natural way.

SOR Sale or return available With prior agreement you can return up to 25% of this product if you end up not using all of it at your party.

Screwcap This bottle has an easy-open screwcap - no corkscrew required!

TAURUS WINES

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Waimea Spinyback Pinot Gris (New Zealand)Bottle price £10.99 Case price £9.99A very enjoyable wine: it has youthful, light complexity, a good length of fruit and an attractive balance through having the residual sugar in check. This is a dry, Alsatian-style Pinot Gris from New Zealand at an excellent price point. This wonderfully dry Pinot Gris would be an excellent match for honey-covered, clove-studded ham, or that dinner party starter classic of melon and Parma ham.

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Amalaya, Torrontes (Argentina)Bottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49As far as we know, the region of Salta in Argentina where this wine comes from has the highest vineyards in the world, at over 3000 metres above sea level. This is low enough that Yetis are rarely seen in the vineyards, yet high enough that it gives a very long ripening season (think slow cooking for grapes), the wines are fl avour packed from the start. Torrontés is a grape unique to Argentina and makes a dry, yet very fl oral fl avoured, very crisp style of white wine. If you’re a Sauvignon Blanc fan with an experimental streak, this will be ideal for you.

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rosÉ wines

Bella Modella Pinot Grigio Rosé (Italy) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49This delicate pale pink, almost blush, rosé tempts you in with aromas of strawberry, before the palate wows with delicious creamy-yet-crisp fruity fl avours. Enjoy it on its own, or with Italian-style charcuterie; or even better, pair it with lightly spiced prawns or chicken.

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Cuvée Jean-Paul, Rosé (France) SORBottle price £6.49 Case price £6.99A pale, strawberry-hued rosé, with aromas of crushed red berries, laced with spice – a bit like smelling freshly-crushed whitecurrants. With instantly appealing red berry fl avours and a smooth fi nish, this is an uncomplicated and easy drinking fresh, dry rosé of real character.

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Sanvigilio, Pinot Grigio Blush (Italy) SORBottle price £6.99 Case price £6.49 Pinot Grigio grapes actually become quite coloured as they ripen – hence the slightly copper (romanto) colouring of riper styles of white Pinot Grigio. The colour of grilled prawns, this perennially popular blush is elegantly scented with peachy, blossom aromas, followed by juicy, ripe, berry fruit fl avours with zesty acidity and a soft creamy fi nish.

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M de Minuty (France) SORBottle price £12.99 Case price £12.49Minuty is the top selling rosé in not only St Tropez, but the whole of the French Riveria, and that is a part of the world that knows its rosé! This is a wonderfully jammy and fruity wine that never loses its refreshing acidity - a combination that is a real thirst quencher!

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light & soft reds

Cuvée Jean-Paul Rouge, (France) SORBottle price £6.49 Case price £5.99This is a gluggable blend of Grenache & Syrah from the Pays de Vaucluse, the area around Carpentras and Orange in the southern Rhône Valley. This region makes ripe red wines, easily enjoyed on their own, as well as being stamped with suffi cient character to partner food.

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Bellefontaine, Merlot (France) SORBottle price £6.99 Case price £6.49Very much a wine for immediate drinking, with the roundness of the palate displaying Merlot’s plummy fruit fl avours and soft, silky tannins. The Bellefontaine wines are made by winemaker Paul Boutinot in the Languedoc region of the south of France, where he selects parcels of wine from diff erent estates to give aromas, fruit, freshness and length to the fi nished blend.

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Rio Rica, Pinot Noir (Chile) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49This wine displays a soft bright ruby red colour. On the nose it is elegant, with aromas of juicy red fruit, such as strawberry, cherry and raspberry with soft notes of caramel and vanilla. On the palate it is fresh and fruit-forward, with soft tannins, maintaining a well-balanced complexity. It goes really well with pasta - especially dishes served with a pesto!.

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Sierra Grande Pinot Noir (Chile) SORBottle price £7.49 Case price £6.99A delicate and elegant Pinot Noir full of ripe fruit fl avours such as plum and wild strawberries, but balanced with a hint of smoke. All in all, an excellent wine at this price with a lovely lingering fi nish. The grapes for this wine are harvested at the coolest time of the day to ensure they reach the winery in peak condition, and kept cool at all times so they can show off their natural fruitiness. No oak casks are used.

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Cantina di Negrar Valpolicello Classico (Italy)Bottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49From the western region of the Veneto, just east of Lake Garda comes this seductively smooth Italian red. The Negrar vineyards are at the heart of the ‘Classico’ area of the region and this is, indeed, a classic Valpolicella. The nose is full of juicy red berry fruit with the slightest hint of earthiness. On the palate it’s smooth and full with a lovely lingering fi nish. Best served with tomato-based pastas, pizza and sausages.

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La Reine de L’Arenite, Fleurie ‘La Madone’ (France) SORBottle price £10.99 Case price £10.49Made from grapes sourced from one of Fleurie’s landmarks, the Madone hillside, which due to its famously rocky soil, gives supremely ripe and elegant Fleurie. Very much the smartest address in Beaujolais, Fleurie is one of the most evocative of all red wines and a perfect red for summer.

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Gran Sasso, Montepulciano (Italy) SORBottle price £10.99 Case price £10.49This winery is situated on the fl anks of the Gran Sasso (Great Stone) mountain in Italy's Abruzzo region. We blind tasted this wine against a number of others, three of which retailed at a pound per bottle more, and easily came out on top. This is textbook Montepulciano wine - deep coloured, freshly scented and with a light, soft palate of red forest fruit fl avours.

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Errazuriz Estate Series Carmenere (Chile) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49Deep purplish-red in colour, with an aromatic expression that refl ects the varietal balance, off ering aromas of nutmeg and red pepper and notes of violets and sweet spices. The palate is intense, with smooth, friendly tannins and pleasing, well-balanced acidity that leads to a refreshing fi nish.

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Santa Digna Merlot (Chile) SORBottle price £7.49 Case price £6.99This Fairtrade wine perfectly displays the red fruit and spicy characters that typify Merlot grown in Chile. It’s smooth and full-bodied, perfect with red meat or sausages.

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Les Volets Pinot Noir (France)Bottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49Or to give it its full title, Les Volets Pinot Noir, Pays de l’Haute Vallée de l’Aude. There’s a mouthful. However, a mouthful of this competitively priced Pinot Noir will actually give you red fruit and jam on the palate with nicely balanced tannins and acid - the foundations of a serious Pinot Noir.

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medium-bodied, smooth reds

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Errazuriz Estate Reserva Merlot (Chile) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49A lively purplish-red in colour, with a clean, fragrant nose showing aromas of red fruits, spice, and balsamic notes that blend harmoniously with toast, caramel, and vanilla notes from the oak aging. The medium-bodied palate features soft, sweet tannins, good structure, and fl avours that confi rm the nose and reveal a wine that is fl avourful, fresh, and friendly with excellent persistence. A very good Chilean Merlot.

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Ponte Pietra, Merlot/Corvina (Italy) SOR Bottle price £7.49 Case price £6.99Along with its white sister, this is the house red at Jamie’s Italian (again a not very pukka £4.25 a glass!) Full of ripe berry fruit aromas and fl avours, it's a blend of 55% Merlot which lends the wine a soft blackberry voluptuousness, with 45% Corvina grapes to add a characterful cherry blossom and ripe cherry pie fruit fl avour to the palate and fi nish.

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Les Oliviers, Merlot/Mourvedre (France) SORBottle price £7.49 Case price £6.99Named after the olive groves (oliviers) that fl ourish around the sun-drenched vineyards of southern France, this is made from two separate plots of Merlot and Mourvèdre vines to produce a lusciously fruity red wine with a slightly wild edge and a nicely dry length. This is a very versatile party wine that will compliment many a dish, particularly red meats.

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12.5% ABV

14.5% ABV

Château Beauregard-Ducourt (France) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49This Bordeaux is a winner in our eyes. It’s from a great year in the region and this wine stays true to its origins. It shows blackcurrant aromas that mingle with herbaceous notes of mint and thyme, cedar and gentle oak spice. Medium bodied with plenty of earthy, spicy black fruit fl avours supported by attractive oak notes and integrated tannins. A great value Claret.

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Trivento, ‘‘TRIBU’’ Malbec (Argentina) SOR Bottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49Ah Argentina – famously described as “a vegetarian’s worst nightmare”. Here’s a pub quiz fact for you: Argentina now has more area under vines than any other country. That’s a testimony to the black, full-bodied, cherry-pit style wines that the country makes, which are ideal with the country’s favourite food - beef. This is a good, mid-bodied example of Malbec at a very decent price.

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Vega del Rayo, Rioja (Spain) SORBottle price £8.49 Case price £7.99Deep and attractive ripe plum and cherry fruit fl avours (a well-known signature of red Riojas) with an extra smoky, spicy dimension that comes from being aged for six months in oak.

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Vega Piedra, Rioja (Spain) SORBottle price £6.99 Case price £6.49Great value oak-aged Rioja from Bodegas Carlos Serres in Haro. Soft and approachable with ripe berry fruit aromas, a hint of oak from three months in wood, a rich, plummy palate with supple tannins, and a long juicy fi nish.

...............................................................................................................Visconti Primtivo (Italy) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49This wine made from Primitivo, also known as Zinfi ndel, is from the very South of Italy where the hot sunshine creates these intense, fruity wines which are full of jammy plum fruit and savoury spice. Smooth-textured with a lick of vanilla on the fi nish.

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De Chansac Carignan Vieille Vignes (France) SORBottle price £8.99 Case price £8.49The label looks smart and greatly belies the rather modest price tag of this juicy and rich, full-bodied, deep-coloured wine. It’s not a ‘clever’ wine, and boasts no fancy heritage, but it’s a fabulously easy-to-drink one, with a wonderful velvety texture, notes of brambly fruit and a hint of vanilla coming from the American oak barrels that it is aged in.

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richer, oaky & more robust reds

12.5% ABV

13% ABV

12.5% ABV

12% ABV

E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône (France) SORBottle price £10.99 Case price £10.49Made from 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre and fermented for eighteen months in oak casks, this is a deep and dark red wine with a spicy, black fruit fl avour. Made by the famous house of Étienne Guigal right on the banks of the River Rhône in Ampuis, just outside of Lyon, this is a great food match with sausages, meat, game and cheeses.

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Torres, Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) SORBottle price £8.49 Case price £7.99This Fairtrade wine has the pure cassis and blackcurrant aromas and fl avours that's so typical of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. When Miguel Torres Jnr. set about achieving Fairtrade status for these wines, a requirement was to pay three times the going rate for the grapes. The local farmers could not believe that they were getting that much more for the same fruit and kept refusing the money as they thought there would be a catch. Needless to say, they quickly discovered there wasn’t and they were all converted within a few vintages! A great example of Fairtrade wine.

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14% ABV

14% ABV

NATURAL PRODUCT

Bodegas Navajas, Rioja (Spain) SORBottle price £7.99 Case price £7.49A full, rich, barrel-aged Rioja at a half-decent price: we nearly fell off our respective chairs when we found this. This is ideal to match food like a hearty casserole or a wild mushroom risotto and is a great ‘winter warmer’ style of wine to drink by itself. Not shy or retiring, but with bagfuls of character, this is certainly a welcome addition to our range.

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Côte Mas Rouge (France) SORBottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49This wine is medium garnet with ruby tints in color. Intense and fruity nose with aromas of ripe black fruits, blackcurrant and a touch of licorice. Smooth and soft with notes of concentrated ripe berries with a touch of sweet spice.

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Septima, Malbec (Argentina)Bottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49If you're a Malbec fan (and many people are), then you probably like the really black, full-bodied, rich and almost chocolatey styles that Malbec can make. If so, this is the wine for you and you'll probably enjoy this best with about half a cow, hooves and all. Vegetables, of course, would only get in the way. In all seriousness, Malbec doesn't get much better for a tenner.

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Chocoholic Pinotage (South Africa) SOR Bottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49This 100% Pinotage wine from the granite slopes of the Darling Hills in South Africa is seductively smooth, sensually soft, subtly sweet, mouthfi llingly moreish and unashamedly addictive! Lovely ripe plum fl avours appear on the palate with soft tannins and toasty oak fl avours. The initial wow, however, is its aroma of chocolate that creeps up from the glass, tempting you in! An example of good-value South African wine.

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Cleefs Classic Collection Pinotage (South Africa) SORBottle price £9.99 Case price £9.49This South African Pinotage is deep red in colour and has all the fruitiness that the ruby-red colour suggests. Dark fruits and spiciness team with dark chocolate and intense mulberry, with a slight oakiness too. This wine is great with grilled and roasted red meats and even pizza for a chilled out evening on the sofa (you, not the wine...)

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Soldier's Block, Shiraz (Australia) SORBottle price £8.49 Case price£7.99This bright and lifted Shiraz begins with aromas of summer fruit pudding and black pepper. The palate then off ers notes of vanilla and chocolate, combining depth of fruit and elegance with a good length. It's a lovely expression of an Australian Shiraz that can be enjoyed both with and without food.

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14% ABV

15% ABV

13.5% ABV

14% ABV