Under £30 per bottle in bond

It’s hard to express how much we love this cuvée. It’s a juicy, pure, light-footed, and expressive Syrah that comes from vines planted just beyond the limits of the Côte-Rôtie appellation. It is fragrant and open, with vivid cherry and cranberry notes. There’s a deliciously leafy freshness, with the scent of peonies woven through the fruit. Fresh, bright, and appetising. Stock up. This has fast become a Lay & Wheeler favourite.

This beautiful old vine red from the Mont Ventoux is made predominantly from Grenache (90%), with some grippy back bone added by a small splash of Syrah and Cinsault. It is made by intrepid winemaker Even Bakke, who likes to practise extended ageing before bottling, only doing so when the wines are at the perfect point to start drinking. This 2015 has a wonderful tannic impact, with a long peppery finish. Having been given plenty of time to mature, the tannins and fruit are now perfectly matched, and what’s more, there are delicious tertiary flavours of spice and forest floor on full display.

This is the Barrot family’s flagship wine. It is rich and woven-through with ripe tannin and forest fruit flavours. It has a muscular body and a bright, red-fruit-driven finish.

A nutty, waxy wine from one of the masters of white wine in the region. It comes from the vines planted above the winery (an old railway tunnel that burrows through the hillside). It has drive, volume, richness, and a long peachy aromatic length. Stéphane is one of just three winemakers in the appellation to bottle a 100% Roussanne.

This fresh, bright, early-picked Viognier epitomises Graeme & Julie’s skill at handling this grape. Where their Condrieus are emerging as some of the most interesting in the appellation, this ‘First Flight’ is a great value window onto their style. The vines are grown in granite soils at 300m altitude. This zips across the palate with the natural freshness, and an attractive almond bite on the finish.

This cuvée flies out the door, so much so that we have to be early to confirm our allocation or it all goes well before the en primeur campaign. It’s pithy, expressive, and with a supple freshness. It’s beautiful to drink in its youth, but will develop well with some time in bottle.

This Syrah comes from old vines grown on the steep slopes in the north of the long, narrow St Joseph appellation, near the domaine in Condrieu. It is dark and brambly, with a brightness and clarity on the palate of crunchy cassis fruit with a twist of licorice.

Made from 60 year old vines grown in the sandy soils of Lirac across the river from the domaine, this Lirac is full of vibrant, bright fruit with nice savoury chewy tannins. The ripe cherry fruit keeps it fresh and approachable, adding to the gourmand feel of this wine. Excellent value.

This classic, old-school Châteauneuf from Jean-Paul Versino is one of the bargains of the list. It comes from a blend of 27 plots, making for a balanced, complete, and inviting Grenache-based Châteauneuf. It is dry and savoury, with the gorgeous combination of red berry fruit, dried herbs, spice and just a hint of licorice. It will drink well from early on, and evolve into an earthy, complex wine in the cellar.

This is grown in kaolinite soils, a clay-limestone soil that only accounts for around 1% of Crozes-Hermitage. These white soils result in highly mineral wines. It is peppery and juicy, with tapenade and spiced fruit notes.

Alain Graillot has long reigned as Crozes-Hermitage’s most respected grower. His sons Maxime and Antoine now run the ship and are making Crozes par excellence. This 2022 is sweetly fruited, with excellent depth. It always sits in the red spectrum of fruit, where all the best Crozes find themselves. It has structure, but also an effortless tenderness, thanks perhaps to its whole bunch fruit (the influence of Alain’s training at Domaine Dujac?).