Fuedo di Santa Tresa – Frappato – light, soft fruity fun (down from £10.49 to £9.75)
Pale cherry red. Fire-engine-bright, loud, pomegranate fruit on the nose. Lively in the mouth with surprising acidity delivering bags of fresh cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit and peppery menthol flavours. The tannins are almost non-existent. Drink slightly chilled – particularly good with mackerel, tuna and other oily fish, caponata and salad Nicoise.
Quinta do Romeu, DOC Douro Moinho do Gato – fresh, unoaked, wild strawberries (new – £8.99)
Light to medium bodied, fruity to the extreme and incredibly easy to drink. Slightly more balanced and less intense than the Frappato makes this more of an all-rounder. Mild tannins give it a little structure and make it perfect accompaniment for all summery poultry and vegetable and picnics – or lightly chilled by itself. Hard not to like.
Domaine Begude – fruit, fruit and more fruit: cherries and raspberries abound (new-ish £10.99)
The previous vintage was a Jancis Robinson wine of the week. She said ‘pale cherry red. Pale rim. Obviously a delicate touch in the winemaking. Light vegy spectrum of Pinot scents and very refreshing too. There’s a good core of just-ripe fruit underneath. This is already a good drink and has no surplus fat nor sweetness. Appetising dry finish. Very fine tannins. Good stuff! And, very good value’. James Kingslake (the winemaker) says– try with duck or, lightly chilled, for a summer lunch.