Jancis’s sure-fire Society reds

Jancis Robinson MW is one of the world’s leading wine critics. She is editor of The Oxford Companion To Wine and Co-Editor of The World Wine Atlas and wine correspondent for The Financial Times.

Her rather excellent website, www.jancisrobinson.com, is jam-packed full of fascinating articles, news and tasting notes. Some is free-to-view, other areas require a subscription which, in our view, is well worth it for anyone who wants to do more than simply scratch the surface of the wine world.

Her recent ’100 sure-fire reds’ including the following 15 wines from The Society.

Quinta do Rigodeira Baga 2005 Bairrada Unusual intensity for the price. Lovely stuff – not too austere – based on Baga, the usually tough grape of this northern Portuguese region. Admirably healthy fruit. 13.5% £7.25

Camillo de Lellis Riserva 2004 Biferno Full and sweet and with masses of oomph and personality – not to mention fruit, and evolution. Sure there are bargains like this to be sniffed out all over Italy? There is ripeness and acidity and a certain raspberry sort of fruit in this unusual wine from Molise. 13% £7.25

Ch de Ricaud 2005 Bordeaux Supérieur Drink this great-value claret from Cadillac sooner rather than later but you can really wallow in it. Well balanced, satisfying and persistent. Graceful finish. 13% £8.50

Ch de la Rolière, Brézème 2007 Côtes du Rhône Exciting, artisanal, spicy Syrah from a village in the mid Rhône Valley. 13% £8.95

Ch Bouissel 2008 Fronton Rare to find wine from Toulouse’s own wine district, and its own Negrette grape scented with ferns and violets. Bravo! Firm and dry. 13% £7.50

Trenel 2009 Côte de Brouilly A thoroughly satisfying, even quite rich, top Beaujolais. Drinkable now but should take on flesh and be at its peak from next year. Racy but not thin. 13% £9.50

Barberani, Foresco 2007 Umbria Supertuscan from Umbria? 50% Sangiovese with 25% each Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and 12 months in French oak barriques. Luscious stuff – very international, suave and open but very well done. 14.5% £9.95

Wirra Wirra, Church Block 2008 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with 37% Shiraz and 15% Merlot, all aged for 15 months in oak barrels. Rich and lip-smacking with lots of fruit. Very mellow but not sweet. Why can’t all Australian reds have such tamed tannins and well-integrated acidity? 14.5% £9.95

Ch d’Aussières, Blason d’Aussières 2007 Corbières 40% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Carignan. From the Lafite stable – so why isn’t it being shipped straight out to China? A hint of top-quality oak in here and a grown-up dry finish. Bordeaux build. I’d wait a year or two but it’s pretty smart – provided you want a Médoc from the Languedoc. 13.5% £9.95

Nicosia, Fondo Filara 2008 Etna Naughty heavy bottle but it’s not expensive for fashionable Nerello Mascalese from Sicily’s volcano. Racy and rich on the nose with some really grainy minerality. Chewy. 13.5% £10.95

Clos Floridène 2006 Graves Famed oenologist Denis Dubourdieu’s home property. Energetic and seductive. Gorgeously polished fruit. 12.5% £14.95

Tempier 2007 Bandol Full and spicy but clean from the best-known Provençal wine producer. Lip-smacking – hot and almost baked but it has life and lift too. 14.5% £20

Yalumba, The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Coonawarra An Australian classic. Very rich and ripe on the nose with a strongly medicinal streak and still lots of tannin. Quite an ambitious wine that very much expresses the minerality of Coonawarra but has sufficient fruit and weight. 14.5% £25

Dom Alain Burguet, En Billard 2005 Gevrey-Chambertin Very fresh, direct fruit and then a little tight on the finish. Lots of spice. Easy to like even if it is not the subtlest burgundy ever. Attractively transparent but with sweetness. No one could object to this. 13% £27

Ch Langoa Barton 2001 St-Julien Léoville Barton’s sister property generally evolves faster. Very fragrant, well integrated and developed. Everything in its place and no excess of tannins. Clever to snap this up – a great property and vintage that is currently undervalued. Great stuff for classicists while the rest will wonder what the heck the fuss is all about… £35