£8, Marks & Spencer
I don't know whether this has been getting better with each vintage or whether I'd forgotten what great value it is. Probably it's both, but either way you get a lot of quality and Cape Chenin character for a modest outlay (and if you're having a party, see below for quantity discounts). The vines are 30 years old, mature enough to give textbook Chenin flavours – straw-like nuttiness, dried flowers, fresh peach, apple and crisp citrus – and they're bound together in supple, medium-bodied elegance. It was aged on its lees for three months and there's a tiny bit of oak (5% of the wine is fermented and aged in 400-litre French barrels for seven months), just enough to bring out Chenin's inherent delicate nuttiness and polish the texture. It's good on its own, but would go well with light pasta, rice, seafood and chicken dishes – spaghetti alle vongole and crab linguine come to mind. 12.5%.
Ken Forrester Workhorse Chenin Blanc 2017, Stellenbosch, South Africa
£8, Marks & Spencer; 10% off for 2 cases; 15% off for 4 or more.