Ray Jordan finds three amazing winter wines for less than $15 each

Ray JordanThe West Australian
Camera IconEach offering a distinctly different drinking experience, the wines featured this week prove that good wine doesn't necessarily come with a hefty price tag. Credit: Supplied

The three wines featured this week demonstrate perfectly that you don’t have to spend a lot to get a really good bottle of wine.

The three are quite different and each has its own identity, providing distinctly different drinking experiences.

The Oakover is remarkable for the reason that it was produced, bottled and being sold before the 2022 vintage had even finished. That’s right — as grapes were either hanging on vines or about to be picked this little sav blanc blend was heading out of the winery for a date with quaffing.

The fact that it is out now is also a reflection of encouraging demand for this style in the wake of smaller recent vintages, and that its main competitor, the Kiwi savvies, are also in short supply.

The Marques del Atrio is quite simply as good a value wine as I have seen selling for less than $15. It’s a six-year-old Reserva from the famous Rioja region of Spain where tempranillo rules, and shows the wonderful drinking appeal of this variety with a little graciano to add further palate energy.

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The final wine is a sub-$10 quaffer from the south of France made from gamay, a variety best known for producing Beaujolais. This one has slightly more weight than Beaujolais providing plenty of delicious current drinking.

Check out Aldi for both of the latter wines.

Oakover sauvignon blanc semillon 2022 ($14)

A wine that captures this early drinking, fresh fruity style to a tee. It’s loaded with lively tropical fruit balanced with a subtle herbaceousness and citrus tang to lift the finish. Sustained flavoursome finish. 89/100

Marques del Atrio Reserva tempranillo graciano 2016 ($12)

Expresses a modern interpretation of Spanish wines from the famed Rioja region. This is staggering value for a wine of this price and quality. Smooth and seamless with all the red fruits of tempranillo and the structure of graciano coming together perfectly. A price of $20 would not be unreasonable. 92/100

L’Expression du Gamay 2020 ($9)

Gamay is of course the key grape for Beaujolais. But here in this south of France-made wine it shows a little more weight and intensity to produce a flavoursome wine. And the good thing is you can get it for less than $10 — sort of crazy. Vibrant and juicy fruit flavours with a neat, controlled finish. 89/100

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