Jean-Marc Sauboua was born and raised in the heart of Grand Cru Bordeaux and has a book filled with useful contacts. He’s a winemaker too (trained at Château Haut Brion) as well as a top Bordeaux Buyer, hence both the great quality and value of this juicy claret. Not only that, 2017 was a year where yields were down 40%. Jean-Marc tasted his way through a few dozen vats of wine to pick out the best. He then helped the winemaker put a blend together that had just the right balance of forward ripe fruit and silky tannins to make this a great value early drinker. Decant

Not many wines can boast 23 top Gold medals in six years, but that’s the triumphant haul for this claret, 2015 to 2020. It’s from a small estate in Saint-Germain du Puch, between Bordeaux and Saint-Emilion. The estate grows Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet on clay and limestone soils typical of the greater Saint-Emilion region. Owners Agnès and Alexandre Sueur and winemaker Gregory Dalla Longa make wines that reflect this special terroir and the unique character of each vintage. And Bordeaux 2020, with its long, warm summer, was certainly high quality. "Bordeaux has another terrific vintage on its hands with 2020" wrote Jeb Dunnock, "outstanding quality level" put Suckling. Decant at least an hour prior to serving it with roast lamb or duck.

A luscious Gold-medal Merlot from the great John Quarisa. It's smooth and complex, with velvety black forest fruits and a juicy plummy note. The palate is silky and lovely. It’s a brilliant partner to pan-fried lamb cutlets. John Quarisa’s lovely Caravan Petite Sirah has become a cult-classic with our customers. But will his velvety Merlot knock the Petite Sirah off its perch?

The Angaston Road Growers range is all about honouring the often unsung heroes of the wine world, the growers. It is their intimate knowledge of the local terroir, the changes of season, and the varietals they tend to that ensure the special parcels of fruit that make it to the winery are in tip-top form to make quality wines like this fine Merlot from Coonawarra grower Mick Gillon.

Hailing from Cariñena, neighbour to Rioja, in northeast Spain, picked at peak of ripeness, it's bursting with silky ripe cherry and summer berry fruit. One of the oldest wine regions of Spain, Cariñena lies just southeast of Rioja, a land of ancient low-yield vines. Most of its vineyards nurture native varieties Garnacha, but this red shows its winemakers can excel equally well with international stars, including Merlot. This grape ripens to perfection in the arid rocky soils and hot sunshine. Mirlo Merlot is a smooth, full-of-fruit red for easy sipping. Served at a cool room temperature, it's a great party wine, and tasty with chicken, veggie kebabs or frittata.