Wines Of The Week: La Reine L'Arenite Fleurie 2009; Forte Alto Pinot Grigio 2010; Grande Reserve De Gassac Rouge 2009

Terry Kirby selects the best bottles to buy

Saturday 05 March 2011 20:00 EST
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Sunday lunch

La Reine L'arenite Fleurie 2009

This week's wines are from the Wine Relief range, sold by retailers which, until 18 March, will donate 10 per cent of the price towards Comic Relief. This is a wine that can be drunk in any cause, although a leg of roast lamb would do just fine. Medium-bodied, somehow both elegant and earthy at the same time, full of red-berry fruit flavours – a wonderful example of the under-appreciated Beaujolais Villages crus. £7.99, booths.co.uk

Weekday supper

Forte Alto Pinot Grigio 2010

Now the weather is, hopefully, slightly less chilly, it's maybe time for some grilled fish or maybe garlicky moules marinière in the evenings. This is the perfect wine for such an occasion, defying the reputation of Italian Pinot Grigio for being insipid by being full of juicy acidity and delicate floral notes, counterbalanced with some vibrant stone-fruit flavours. £7.99 (or £91.08, a discount of 5 per cent, for 12 bottles, waitrosewine.com)

Bargain basement

Grande Reserve De Gassac Rouge 2009

This might not seem like a bargain – until you open the bottle, which you must do several hours ahead of drinking to allow the concentrated flavours of tar, herbs and dried black fruits to develop, and realise this wine punches well above its price. The "second" wine of the Gassac estate – whose premier wine, Mas De Daumas, fetches very high prices – is a robust, complex mouth-filler, blended from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah and utterly redolent of the sun-drenched vineyards of the Languedoc. £8.49 (minimum purchase 12 bottles), laithwaites.co.uk

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