Four affordable, lighter reds for summer smashing

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Four affordable, lighter reds for summer smashing

Back to the UK and I’m working through some samples on a balmy summer evening. I’m really into lighter red wines at the moment and these four fit the bill for some summer smashing. And they are affordable, too.

Villa Blanche Piquepoul Noir 2016 IGP Pays l’Herault, France
13% alcohol
£8.49 Waitrose
Part of Calmel and Joseph’s Cepages Anciens range. Piquepoul Noir is an ancient Languedoc grape variety, and here it has created a supremely fresh, bright juicy red wine with citrus fruit penning in the red berries. It has a bit of crunch, but the dominant theme is bright fruit, and this is perfect summer drinking, lightly chilled. 88/100

De Martino Tinto Chileno Old Vine Cinsault Pais 2015 Itata, Chile
13% alcohol
£12.99 Virgin Wines
70% Cinsault and 30% Pais, from old unirrigated vines on rolling granitic hills. It’s a tribute to the old-style wines of Chile. Pale red in colour, this is quite sappy and green, but in a nice way, with lovely redcurrant and cherry fruit, with nice acidity. Supple and fresh, this is a lighter red wine with a juicy appeal, but also something a bit more serious if you look for it. A wine of fine-grained ease and elegance. 89/100

Pfaffl St Laurent Granat 2017 Niederosterreich, Austria
£7.99 Lidl
13% alcohol
This is crunchy and dense with a slightly reduced, angular, grippy palate showing focused raspberry and black cherry fruit with some hints of tar and spice. Grainy and intense, this has lovely summer fruits freshness, and enough grunt to take on rich dishes like roast duck or pork ribs. Great value at this price. 88/100

Morrisons Beaujolais Villages 2017 France
13% alcohol
£7 Morrisons
Deeply coloured, but really fresh and vivid, with pure flavours of raspberries, cherries and blackberries. Fresh, pure, vivid and crunchy with real focus and nice acidity. This is Gamay in a fresh, direct, fruity guise, but it has a hint of grippy seriousness, too. very impressive for supermarket own-label. 88/100

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