Overall, I find the wine selection in most UK supermarkets to be rather lopsided. There is still a heavy focus on industrially produced wines from the English-speaking New World that are named after some poor animal’s tail (take your pick) or ‘carefully sourced’ from some paddle-less creek. Another gripe – although this could be said for the English-speaking wine industry as a whole – is that the cult of the winemaker also reigns supreme, i.e. you will stress at all costs that whoever ‘crafted’ the wine is also ‘heading up winery operations’. However, even in these troubled times, there are still some affordable little gems that are able to speak for themselves eloquently enough.

Co-op ‘Les Pionniers’ brut, Champagne
This is an own-brand champagne, though the label doesn’t state who actually produced it at source. Healthy medium-light yellow, with fine bubbles. Attractive brioche and butter on the nose, with hints of blackcurrant. Impressive biscuity concentration.
Pure and clear on the palate, with uplifting acidity and less stuffing than the nose might have suggested (no more than medium body). Lip-smackingly dry, with berry fruit (mostly redcurrant) and a satisfying finish. With ample structure and integrity, this fizz punches above its weight.

After ‘Das Kreuz’, here is the ‘lesser’ of the Bordeaux blends that the Rings brothers produce from the ‘Das Schwarze Kreuz’ vineyard situated to the south of Freinsheim. Incidentally, Andreas and Steffen Rings have now relocated their winemaking operations from a backstreet near the village railway station to a spanking new site in the middle of this vineyard.

Andreas and Steffen Rings, Das Kleine Kreuz 2009, Pfalz
This is mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Laurent, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Dark, almost opaque red. Densely packed aromas. The finest dark chocolate imaginable combines with currants to evoke something slightly akin to Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut. There is also has a slight Amarone/Rumtopf characteristic. I remember this wine’s initial dark fruit of youth. This has developed into something even more voluptuous. Hints of iron lend an interesting counterpoint. Velvety smooth on the palate with mellow tannins. Full-bodied concentration with dark and dried berry fruit. The 2009 season was warm, and this wine is a blockbuster with 14.5% abv. Certainly not a bottle to drink on your own in one sitting. Nevertheless, there is enough freshness to lift the opulence and density onto a higher, extremely delicious, multilayered plane. I would say that this red is at the perfect stage right now. The finish is long – with serious structure framing the wine’s silky smoothness.