£9.99, or £8.99 in any mix of six bottles, Majestic
Bordeaux Supérieur – everyday claret – doesn't come much better than this, and certainly not at this price. The excellent quality of the 2015 vintage helps, but the Xavier Milhade family, who've owned Recougne since 1938 (happy 80th anniversary), produce good wine every year. The 2015 is polished, perfumed and velvety with rich mulberry, spice, coffee and chocolate flavours, supple tannins and cedary freshness. It's perfect now, but it has the structure to evolve: lay it down somewhere cool and dark and enjoy it over the next five years with lamb, other red meat or cheese dishes. Pub quiz facts: it's three quarters Merlot, supported by Cabernet Franc (which gives the lifted freshness), Cabernet Sauvignon and a smidgen of Carmenère, a variety that's now rare in Bordeaux; it’s aged for at least two years before bottling; and the Milhades have 100 hectares of vines, some more than 50 years old and all farmed with respect for the environment.
Château Recougne 2015, Bordeaux Supérieur, France
£9.99, or £8.99 in any mix of six bottles, Majestic