£11, Sainsbury's
Barbaresco and bargain aren't words that usually go together, but £11 is a very good price for a Barbaresco of this quality. It's even got a track record for reliability: two previous vintages were equally good. It’s classic, medium-bodied Nebbiolo, quietly assured, savoury and food-friendly. The perfume and flavours criss-cross from rose potpourri, dark plums and cherries, to autumnal undergrowth and forest floor, to tobacco, nutmeg, espresso and liquorice. There’s a light dusting of oak (12 months in American and French barrels) to soften the lightly chewy tannins and it’s ready to drink now, but you could easily keep it for two or three years if you have somewhere suitably cool and dark. Good with mushroom dishes, game birds, venison, beef and lamb.
Taste the Difference Barbaresco 2014, Piedmont, Italy
£11, Sainsbury's