Top 5 red wines for Easter
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Our Easter feast is likely to look rather different this year but whether you're ploughing through some stockpiled food, or have managed to hunt down an Easter ham or leg of lamb, pair it with a soft, easy red, plucked from the supermarket shelves when you're shopping for essentials...
1. Buenas Vides Argentinian Bonarda, Argentina (£4.99, Aldi, in-store)
Aldi is bang on the money with its new South American red, which is destined to become a big hit with its brambly fruit, deepened with notes of blueberries and damson, overlaid with spice. Made from bonarda, Argentina's second most popular grape, it's fun and food-friendly with its moreish smoothness and juicy acidity.
2. Vina Ventisquero Root: 1 Carmenere 2018, Colchagua Valley, Chile (£7.75, Morrisons, in-store)
South America's slender sister is another winner with its well-made, well-priced carmenere, and this is a delicious expression of Chile's signature grape. A riot of blackberries, plums, cherries and warm spice, overlaid with a hint of smoke and a lick of vanilla, Root 1's winemaker cites the 2018 vintage for its carmenere as 'one the best in the last 10 years', and it's fresh, fragrant and concentrated at the same time.
3. Corte Mayor Rioja Crianza 2016, Spain (£9, Co-op, in-store)
A youthful tempranillo temptress, this crianza has a little bit of oak ageing for some cedar freshness, and it's a deliciously approachable style that's smooth and round with heaps of ripe red fruits, and blackcurrant flavours and aromas. Perfect with lamb cutlets, or a Spanish tortilla.
4. Tesco Finest Barossa Shiraz 2017, Barossa Valley, Australia (£8, Tesco)
Wine lovers are spoilt for choice when it comes to Australia's rich pickings, especially shiraz, which thrives under the blankets of sunshine in the famous Barossa Valley. A bonza red that's laden with vibrant rich black fruits and draws you in with powerful aromas of plums, cherries and blackcurrant, hints of vanilla and spicy black peppercorn... bring on the steak with peppercorn sauce.
5. M&S Clocktower Pinot Noir 2018, Wairau Valley, New Zealand (£12, Marks & Spencer, in-store)
A plush and pretty pinot, this is a little gem of a ruby red with a fruity, silky elegance, balanced by good acidity with lip smacking flavours of wild berries and red cherries. Matured in French oak with subtle spicy notes, this would be delicious with veal chops; or with a little more time on our hands to prep in the kitchen, boeuf bourguignon.
