Highlights from The Wine Society: 20 under £12

Here’s my list of affordable highlights (under £12) from The Wine Society, from a recent press tasting. The Wine Society is unusual and wonderful as a wine retailer: it is a not-for-profit venture, and to buy from them you have to join. But the joining fee is well worth it because their buying is excellent in most areas, and is driven by all the right motivations. And if they stock a wine, because of their lower margin requirement, it will almost always be the cheapest place to buy it. Another nice feature about the Wine Society is that they don’t rely on high-margin private label, and they rarely use price promotion to sell wine (retailers who do often have higher margins to start with).

Château L’Oiselinière de la Ramée Chéreau-Carré Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine sur Lie 2018 France
12%
£8.50
Fresh, fine and supple with nice fruit. Very pure and fine with nice elegance. 89/100

Familie Mantler Grüner Veltliner Niederösterreich 2019 Austria
12%
£8.50
Supple and a bit peppery with some delicacy. Nice finesse and precision with good detail. Great value. 90/100

Allovini Greco Basilicata Le Ralle 2019 Italy
13%
£9.95
Very detailed, with mandarin, orange peel and a nice soft texture. This is linear and fine, and a bit of a steal at this price. 91/100

Mitravelas ‘White on Grey’ Moschofilero 2019 Greece
12%
£7.95
With a floral, grapey nose, this is a bright terpenic white wine with freshness and purity and a slight pithy edge. Very stylish for the price. 89/100

Contesa Pecorino Abruzzo 2019 Italy
13%
£9.95
Rounded, with a slightly salty edge. Pure and linear with nice yellow plum and citrus fruit. 90/100

Domaine Gonon Mâcon La Roche Vineuse 2019 Bourgogne, France
13.5%
£10.50
This has lovely weight with nice concentration of melon and peach fruit with a citrus core. Shows a nice grainy edge to the fruit. A lovely wine. 91/100

Via Vinera Bulgarian Heritage Misket 2019 Bulgaria
13%
£7.50
100% Misket, a terpenic variety. Very pretty, grapey and floral. A nice fruity style with good texture and weight. 89/100

Château Reynon Sauvignon Blanc 2018 Bordeaux, France
12.5%
£11.50
Part-fermented in large oak vats. Fine, spicy and linear with lovely pear and citrus fruit. Fine grained and stylish with nice purity. 92/100  

Puiatti Ribolla Gialla 2019 Friuli, Italy
12.5%
£9.50
Fruity, fine and expressive with nice fresh grape and pear. Well balanced and textural. 89/100

Beaujolais Les Pierres Dorées Cuvée Louis Dépagneux 2018 France
13%
£8.50
Lovely crunchy red cherries here. Supple and quite fine and understated. Has some deliciousness with nice raspberry freshness. 89/100

The Society’s Exhibition Moulin-à-Vent 2018 Beaujolais, France
13.5%
£11.50
Juicy cherries, spice and some redcurrant crunch. Good structure and weight here: a lovely Gamay. 91/100

Concha y Toro Corte Marcelo Limarí Pinot Noir 2019 Chile
14%
£9.50
Limarí has ideal conditions for pinot noir, with a cool climate and some limestone in the soil. This is rounded, supple and elegant with soft strawberry and red cherry fruit. Nicely elegant in style with lovely fruit. Very stylish for the price. 90/100

Thymiopoulos Xinomavro Jeunes Vignes 2019 Naoussa, Greece
13%
£10.95
25% whole bunch. This has lovely red currant and red cherry fruit. Refined with nice structure, lovely purity and a bit of tannic grip. This is thrilling, especially for the price. 93/100

Via Vinera Bulgarian Heritage Mavrud 2017 Bulgaria
13.5%
£8.50
Lovely weight. Very fruity and pure with nice grip, and notes of herbs and tar. 88/100

Mitravelas Red on Black Agiorgitiko 2019 Nemea, Greece
14%
£7.95
Lovely blackcurrant fruit here with some cherry and berry fruit. Nice spicy edge. Grippy, juicy and supple. 90/100

Luna Beberide Mencía 2019 Bierzo, Spain
13.5%
£9.50
Very fresh and pure with lovely red fruits. Elegant and supple with lovely weight. Has some grip with amazing finesse and purity. 92/100

Vigna Corvino Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2018 Italy
13%
£8.50
Fine and expressive with lovely pure fruit. Very fine and balanced with a grainy, chalky edge to the fruit. 90/100

La Ralle Aglianico del Vulture 2017 Italy
13%
£8.95
This shows nice freshness with good structure to the cherry and plum fruit. Nice weight and good tannins. Compact and structured with lovely purity. 91/100

The Society’s Portuguese Red 2019 Península de Setúbal, Portugal
13.5%
£5.95
90% Castelão, 10% alicante bouschet. Lovely pure fruit: sweet and supple with lots of refinement for the price. 88/100

The Society’s Australian Shiraz 2018 Australia
14%
£7.50
Rounded, fruity and pure with lovely elegance. Ripe and delicious with supple berry fruits and nice brightness. 89/100

Pisano Progreso Tannat Reserve 2019 Uruguay
14%
£9.95
Nice crunchy, vivid, supple green-tinged berry fruits with some blackcurrant. Lovely focus and freshness. 90/100