£11.99, or £8.99 in any 6-bottle mix, Majestic
Most red wine is drunk too warm, but people are reluctant to put it in the fridge for the 30 minutes or so that would bring it down to a more flattering 15–18ºC, rather than around 22ºC (restaurants and bars are even worse – don’t let me start on that). The fear is that the wine will emerge unpleasantly cold or somehow damaged. In 30 minutes it won’t unless your fridge temperature is exceptionally low, but the label of this supple, rich, cassis and dark chocolate-flavoured Shiraz gives all the reassurance anyone needs. It has a temperature sensor on its back-label and a graduated colour chart: if the sensor is at the pale lilac end of the chart, the wine is too warm; if it’s dark purple, it’s too cold. What could be simpler? It’s a wine that takes red meat in its stride, but is soft and easygoing enough not to overpower lighter food. I feel a barbecue coming on.
Wakefield Estate Shiraz 2014, Clare Valley, Australia
£11.99, Majestic, or £8.99 in any 6-bottle mix, Majestic; £9.95, Taste Fine Wines; £10.49, Fareham Wine Cellar; £10.99, Cheers Wine Merchants; £11.99, Hennings Wine; £12.76, Vintage Wines Ltd; £12.80, Penistone Cellars; £13.99, Oz Wines (UK); €14.22, KWM Wines (note this price is in euros, as KWM is in Co Down).