Waitrose’s best wines: Jancis Robinson’s recommendations

Among the supermarkets that dominate wine retailing in the UK, Waitrose is widely credited with having the best selection. Twice a year it invites wine media to taste a substantial proportion of the wines on offer. I went along last month and came away rather surprised to find that I had managed to taste 96 of the 148 wines on show, even though I deliberately avoided most of its own-label bottlings on the basis that they are available only in the UK.

As a campaigner against unnecessarily heavy bottles, I am delighted that bottle weights are included in its notes on each wine. Global progress is evidently being made here, with many on the Waitrose tables weighing less than 400g when empty.

The sinners included several producers who loudly espouse sustainability such as Ch Maris, whose Les Planels Minervois weighed in at 600g. In view of the additional carbon emissions involved in making and transporting such heavy bottles, this is a bit rich. Waitrose’s Savennières comes in a bottle that weighs 785g, and that of Bersano’s 2021 Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato San Pietro is 750g.

But you are almost certainly more interested in the best (and best-value) wines. My average score was just over 15.5 out of 20, but I gave two 17.5s and nine 17s. What is perhaps remarkable is that of this total of 11 high-scorers, three were champagnes, five were sherries and one was a port, leaving just two table wines, each scoring 17.

After tasting the first, Simonnet-Febvre’s Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 2020 (£35 a bottle, from Waitrose Cellar online only), I wrote: “Proper Chablis without too much ripeness and real cut and juiciness though it’s no cheaper than at the independents. Quite long. Well selected!” Millésima seems to be the only merchant offering it in the UK and is charging the equivalent of £33.33 a bottle for a case of six. So, if you seek a single bottle of premier cru Chablis, one of the few sorts of white burgundy that offers real value and ageing potential, this would be a wine to head for, particularly when Waitrose runs one of its regular promotions offering 25 per cent off any six mixed bottles.

The other table wine I scored 17 was a stalwart of the Waitrose range: Leitz, Rüdesheim Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Kabinett 2021 Rheingau. I gave it the same score when I tasted it last October. It is low alcohol (9.3 per cent), juicy and fresh and, at just £13.99 a bottle, it is a steal. But it would arguably be even more attractive in summer — as, say, a refreshing aperitif. It has notes of pure fruit and such great balance that it by no means tastes sweet. Kabinett is the German wine insider’s current favourite Riesling.

One of my 17.5s was given to the stunningly complex bone dry Bollinger Rosé champagne (£59.99 and available in more than 200 stores), which really deserves to be served at the table rather than alone. The other went to another widely available wine, a dark, bone dry Oloroso sherry from Lustau, from a single barrel untouched for the past eight years and aged in the darkest, most humid corner of Lustau’s La Emperatriz bodega. It’s so tense that it almost gives you an electric shock, and would be stunning as an appetite-whetter or with a fine cheddar or comté. It will be available from Cellar from mid-July, and at £19.99 for a half-litre, it’s much more exciting than the unusually mature, pale Fino version at the same price.

The four sherries I thought justified a score of 17 included both the dry Oloroso and Amontillado bottlings of a range called Pedro’s Almacenista Selection, almost laughably inexpensive at £9.99 for a full, attractively labelled 75cl bottle.

Even more creatively labelled are fellow 17-pointers Sánchez Romate Oloroso Encontrado (£15.99 a half-bottle) and Cayetano del Pino Palo Cortado Solera (£14.99 a half-bottle), both bone dry sherries and hugely appetising. Clearly, if you appreciate dry Oloroso, Waitrose is the place to head for. (The Wine Society, rarely beaten on price, charges £17 for a half-bottle of the Oloroso Encontrado.) Stock up now before the world wakes up to the bargain nature of mature sherry.

Another fortified wine earned 17 points, the Quinta do Noval LBV port I deemed “VGV” for very good value. As I noted when comparing this beautifully made wine to a young vintage port, “Like a second wine in Bordeaux, this would only be put in the shade by serving the grand vin alongside.”

Then there were two champagnes that were almost as outstanding as the Bollinger Rosé. Louis Roederer’s non-vintage blend changes every year and the most recent is Collection 243 (although the 242 may also be on sale). It is based on the 2017 crop but is given real depth by the inclusion of 44 per cent of even older wine, some of it aged in oak. The blend was then aged on lees (yeast sediment) in the bottle for three years — much longer than most NV champagnes. Waitrose is asking £59.99 for it, but it’s available for much less from many independent retailers. WineTime of Liverpool is selling it at £39.99, for instance, according to Wine-searcher.com.

Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV Champagne is a gutsy, slightly rustic, all-Chardonnay blend from the co-op in the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger that has benefited from all of five years ageing on lees in bottle. Only one other UK retailer, Marlo Wine, is listed, and charges £4 less than Waitrose’s price of £39.99 — quite a bargain at either price. This was one of a total of 17 wines I marked “GV” for good value.

I marked two wines very, very good value and another 10 very good. (As usual, South Africa and Spain are notable for their bargain bottles.) So 30 per cent of the wines I tasted I reckoned were at least good value. All 12 are listed in the box below.

But mass-market retailers rarely offer great value above about £12 a bottle where they’re unable to buy in vast quantities and economies of scale are difficult to apply. For more expensive wines, you’re probably better off going to an independent wine merchant, who can offer advice and a much more personal service.

Tasting notes, scores and suggested drink dates on Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com. Some international stockists on Wine-searcher.com

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