Weekly Wine: High Fivers

We're feeling the pinch here at Sluttery HQ this week. All these dreams of £35,000 animal chairs have reminded us that we've got things to be saving for, but with the weekend jumping up and down saying "LOOK AT MEEEEEE! ME ME ME ME!" we're uber-tempted to splash out (wine-wise, we mean that literally) and enjoy ourselves.

I've decided to attempt to have the best of both worlds: I'm being thrifty, but I sure as hell ain't gonna last a weekend without wine. Oh no. I'm just going to be super-savvy and choose tasty treats for under a fiver instead. Here's my pick of the best sub-£5 bottles I've found:

Sainsburys

Red: Cono Sur Pinot Noir £7.49 down to £5.00 a bottle

It's not often you get a good Chilean Pinot for this price, let alone from one of the coolest producers out there. Typical cherry, red-fruit Pinot with some subtle spice. Lovely food wine.

White: Palastri Pinot Grigio - £6.99 down to £4.65 a bottle

A favourite of my Papa's, this is a regular bottle in our household and is always light, pleasant, and very quaffable, with or without a meal. A great value example of Pinot Grigio.

Majestic

Red: La Serrana Tempranillo - £4.49 a bottle

The Rioja grape without the Rioja price, and *alright* it's not quite Rioja quality either but it is smooth and dark and great with a meaty meal.

White: Aspen Estate Chardonnay - £4.99 a bottle

Jane Macquitty raved about this in The Times and I can see why. This is a real fresh swigger, great for a night of giggling, gossip and good food.

Waitrose

Red: Cuvee Chasseur, Vin de France £4.26 a bottle

This warm, lightly fruity bottle has won awards, and has all the big guns in the wine press world waxing lyrical about how bloody gorgeous it is. Joyfully jammy and one of the best value reds out there, according to the experts, and I have no reason to argue with them here.

White: Cuvee Pecheur, Vin de Pays Comte Tolosan £4.26 a bottle

Light, citrus and refreshing, this is dangerously drinkable and makes you want to run outside for a picnic whatever the weather.

The Wine Society

Red: Lascar Carmenere, £4.95 a bottle

Chilean reds are smashing but they don't come much better than this for under a fiver. Absolutely delicious warm, sophisticated red that is astonishingly balanced. A favourite of my Grandpa and me.

White: Dona Paulina Chardonnay, £4.95 a bottle

Gosh, this is lovely. Uncomplicated, yes, but so smooth and tasty. Quite often accompanies my roast chicken on a Sunday afternoon.

Marks and Spencer

Red: Cotes du Rhone 2010, £4.99 a bottle

An actual Cotes du Rhone that is actually soft and with chunky fruit and spice, and actually under a fiver and not just on offer. Bloody brilliant. And you already know what I think of their Gamay I wrote about a few weeks back.

White: Vin De Pays Du Gers 2010, £4.79 a bottle

This is a lively one, packed full of green fruit and acidity. Succulent and oh-so-slurpable. Good work, M&S.

Are you squirrelling away some wine bargains? Share them with us in the comments, or on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Image taken from Moonlightbulb's photostream under the Creative Commons License