The best new wine online

Roc Primeur Bordeaux, France 2021 (£13.99, or £11.99 as part of a mixed case of 12, Laithwaites) For obvious reasons, the pandemic has been a Busy times for wine online, with sales by some of the biggest players increasing by up to 300% during the various lockdowns. While many of us have now reverted to pre-pandemic wine buying patterns, it seems many have stuck to our online habit, much like Zooms and Teams have (for better or for worse). worse) replaced many face-to-face meetings. Fittingly, the biggest player in the business - Laithwaites - hosted their latest press tasting online, sending in samples and having their team of wine buyers discuss their picks via video. I enjoyed the small selection from the retailer's 1,200-bottle range that I tried at home, which included two from the region the company first became known with, Bordeaux. Roc Primeur is a lively red, very modern, young, fresh and scented with blackcurrant; et Château le Coin Sauvignon Gris 2021 (£12.99) is a pleasantly weighted yet scintillating white wine with flavors of white peach and grapefruit.

Vino Atlantico Txakoli, Spain 2019 (£17.99, Naked Wines) Another highlight of Laithwaites (who, like most merchants, has its best prices if you buy in a case of 12 bottles (mixed or not) is a really juicy Chilean red made by the talented winemaker Ricardo Baettig of Viña Morande of the currently popular 2019 varietal país Pencahue Estate (£10.99 or £8.99 in a case) has the silky feel and brightness of fruit that I associate with wines made in egg-shaped concrete vessels that many winemakers now prefer to wooden or stainless steel barrels.On the white side, I enjoyed the distinctive Lebanese combination of muscat, local variety obeidy and viognier in Ixsir Altitudes Blanc 2021 (£20, or £18.99 in a case): A heady scent of rose garden, peach and lemon- a refreshing match for a fresh food fe ast spiced with tahini and zaatar. It contrasts nicely with my favorite white from a '30 under £30' set sent to me by Laithwaites online rivals Naked Wines: the modern, crisp and intensely citrus orange take on the Basque classic seafood partner, txakoli.

PI Saperavi, Kakheti Georgia 2020 (£20.99, Naked Wines) There's a great story behind my favorite red in the Naked selection . According to the Naked spiel, the company's wine director Ray O'Connor met him in a hidden cellar in the back garden of winemakers Levan Chichinadze and Teona Omarashvili's home in the center of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. . Made from the tall saperavi, an inky, dark Georgian grape grown in the country's main growing region of Kakheti, it's dry, but there's something almost Black Forest cake about it: a velvety sheen luxuriously sensual black cherry and dark blackberry fruit, all beautifully balanced by lovely acidity. It's cut for roast lamb, but I also enjoyed it with very dark, almost flavorful high cocoa chocolate. Under £10, I was impressed with the easy-drinking, spicy succulence of Sam Plunkett's The Butterfly Effect Shiraz 2021 from Victoria Australia (£9.99); the 2020 Domaine Des Deux Vallées Coteaux du Layon Loire Sweet Wine “Tarte Tatin in a Glass” (£10.99, 37.5cl) is a lovely partner for cheese at the end of a long, lingering lunch. summer.

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