Top 10 wines in the UK press

Toque Virtuoso Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Valencia, Spain

Susy Atkins, writing in The Telegraph, picked a selection of “crisp, cool” wines perfect for serving with squid.

She said: “Tread carefully, as squid flesh has a gentle flavour and soft texture – not the sort of thing to pair with a tannic red or heavily oaked, rich white wine. Instead, I give you two excellent options: unoaked (or very lightly oaked), dry, crisp whites, and young rosés.”

Of this Spanish Sauvignon Blanc she said: “An all-round sucker for squid, this, with its perfumed lime and apple and simple but palate-cleansing finish. Pair with the mocqueca or with plainer dishes.”

Price: Marks & Spencer, £7

Bodegas Muga Rosado 2013 Rioja, Spain

If enjoying a dish of stir-fried squid with ginger, lemon-grass and chilli “stick with a scented dry white” or switch to rosé, advises Atkins. “Not too pale and subtle (so not from Provence) and certainly not a sweetish Californian. Reach out a tentacle and wrap it tenderly around a cool, mouth-watering, well-balanced, fruity Spanish Rosado”, for example this Muga Rioja.

She said: “Not the cheapest pink around, but this is a classy wine – dry and elegant, but with cherry and strawberry notes and a sprinkle of white pepper. Lovely with the stir-fried squid.”

Price: Waitrose, £9.99

2013 Brancott Estate, Terroir Series Sauvignon Blanc, Awatere Valley, New Zealand

This “electrifying” Sauvignon Blanc was recommended by Matthew Jukes, writing in the Daily Mail. 

He said: “Terroir is a term used to describe the environment in which a wine is made, including factors such as the soil, the topography and the microclimate. This wine endeavours to sum up the characteristics of the Awatere Valley in Marlborough and I reckon it nails it with the piercing fresh herb and citrus notes.”

Price: £11.99, reduced to £8.99 each if you buy 2 bottles, until 27 October, Majestic

2012 Taste the Difference Primitivo del Salento, Italy

Jukes also had praise for this Italian red which he said would pair wonderfully with a Raviolo, mushrooms and artichokes recipe.

She said: “Unlike many Primitivos it is not a heady, blockbuster but a more sensitive, medium-weight, blackberry-scented which will allow the artichokes to show thorough.”

Price: £7.50, Sainsbury’s

Martinfort Carignan Selection Vieilles Vignes IGP Pays d’Hérault 2013

D avid Williams, writing in The Guardian, turned his attention to wines picked by Bunch this week, a collective of six UK independent wine merchants.

He said: “Bunch, had its annual summit a couple of weeks back, with each member bringing 10 of their most notable wines to show off to the press at the labyrinthine London media-luvvy club, The Groucho. These are merchants with some very smart wines on their books, but they don’t neglect the affordable and the everyday. Take, for example, two southern European wines showed by Bunch merchants from opposite sides of England: East Anglia’s Adnams had the glossy, ample but supple Spanish red Cala No. 1 2011 from La Mancha (£7.99), while Shropshire’s Tanners offered a herby-earthy blackberry-scented southern French treat from very old Carignan vines.”

Price: £7.40, Tanners

Il Barrocio IGT Rosso Siciliane, Italy 2012

This “joyously plum-skin tangy” Italian red was another of Williams’ top Bunch picks.

He said: “Bunch member Corney & Barrow is known in fine wine circles for importing two of France’s most exclusive producers: the great single-vineyard Champagne Salon, and the legendary Burgundy of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Neither was on show at The Bunch event, although the swish sun-filled 2010 Chardonnay (£47.50) from Romanée-Conti owner Aubert de Villaine’s Napa Valley side project, Hyde de Villaine, was a classy consolation prize – as was Tardieu-Laurent’s creamy, nutty orchard-scented white Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2011 (£35.25). Less challenging for the wallet, but just as much fun in its way, was the joyously plum-skin tangy, tomato pasta-friendly Il Barroccio red, a succulent example of the native Sicilian grape nero d’avola.”

Price: £7.50, Corney & Barrow

Château La Gorce, Médoc, 2009

1998 vintage pictured

Terry Kirby, writing for The Independent, recommended this French Bordeaux from the near perfect vintage of 2009 as his Sunday lunch wine.

He said: “In the exceptional year of 2009, even a lesser-known Cru Bourgeois represents great value. This Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend is an accessible, youthful, vibrant claret, full of upfront, ripe, sweet fruit, with just a smoky tang. Will match any autumnal game.”

Price: £11.87, christopherpiperwines.co.uk; £14, hhandc.co.uk

Santuario Malbec Shiraz 2014, Argentina

Kriby’s midweek meal wine pick came in the form of this Argentine Malbec Shiraz blend.

He said: “This interesting Argentine blend is defiantly different – the gorgeous lively blackberry fruit flavours of Malbec work well with the spicy Shiraz; young and fresh and bursting with flavour, while remaining nicely rounded. Drink with all pizza and tomato-based pasta dishes.”

Price: £7.49, ministryofdrinks.co.uk

The Vagabond Grenachae 2013, Thistledown, Australia

“I am delighted to see that big Australian “show stopping” wines are becoming a thing of the past”, wrote Rose Murray Brown MW in The Scotsman this week.

She said: “With thumpingly high alcohol levels, very extracted fruit and heavy new oak notes they were made to seduce wine show judges and American critics – and to scoop awards. When it came to quaffing them, the average wine lover shied away. Now there is a welcome move to make wines that we – the consumer – might actually want to drink.”

Of this example from Thistledown she said: “A more serious effort as you would expect from the price. A blend of McLaren Vale fruit: Seaview and bush vines from Blewitt Springs grown on limestone and ironstone. Violet perfume notes, deep dense mouthfilling fruit with an interesting savoury edge deriving from whole bunch fermentation, this is chunky but with a soft, silky finish. It should mellow even further in the bottle.”

Price: £17.99

Thorny Devil Grenache 2013, Thistledown, Australia

Sticking within Thistledown’s portfolio, Murray Brown recommended this uncharacteristically light Australian Grenache.

She said: “This is like an iron fist in a velvet glove. Initially it looks as pale as a Pinot, enticing ripe raspberry notes, but it has an elegance and lightness rarely found in Aussie Grenache. It might disappoint those who like big reds, but has an interesting subtlety. It hails from a single vineyard called Lyndoch in the heart of the Barossa Valley.”

Price: £14.99