Joelle Thomson's Amazing Value Picks: The Spanish French affair

It’s all about two of the most famous winemaking countries on Earth this week, namely, Spain and France, whose wines feature in both the star and supporting roles here. This pack is all about soft, smooth, summery reds that drink well when lightly chilled on warm evenings - as well as a dry rosé and a great white from Spain. The white is made from the Verdejo grapes - an old grape with a new lease of life right now, thanks to the Spanish winemaking renaissance that began in the 1980s. If you’ve never tried a great Spanish wine, try this outstandingly affordable Verdejo to see exactly what this country is capable of. Happy wine week. 2012 Calle Real Reserva Valdepenas DOP 17.5/20, 4 stars This is a tasty Tempranillo from Valdepenas in Castilla la Mancha, a large region south east of Madrid and home to over 50 per cent of Spain’s grapes. Tempranillo is the most popular grape in the country and is the key ingredient in this smooth, spicy, seven year old red with its ripe red fruity flavours. 2017 Laurent Dublanc Cotes du Rhone 16.5/20, 3.5 stars Tasty Med’ red from France’s southern Rhone Valley, where the warm Mediterranean climate has little rainfall, which results in deliciously ripe, flavoursome big reds with deep ruby colour, full body and spicy flavours. Great value for money for satisfying reds with a smooth soft style. View here. 2018 Paul Pinot Pére & Fils Pinot Noir-Syrah 16.5/20, 3.5 stars This is a fabulous smooth French red made from an unusual combo of grapes, namely Pinot Noir whose lightness marries well with Syrah’s spicy rich dark fruit flavours. This is dry, medium bodied and smooth. An appealing red with approachable flavours that seem to say ‘drink me now’. This is a great summer red. View here. 2018 Casa Safra Verdejo Spain 17/20, 4 stars This dry Spanish white is youthful in colour, aroma and taste, with lavours of lemon zest, a medium body, with a long finish, thanks to its high balanced but acidity. Every sip shows why Verdejo is the great white grape of Spain. Very good quality. View here. 2018 Casa Safra Garnacha Rosé Spain 17/20, 4 stars Rosé rocks right now and this wine shows why. It comes from Navarra in the north of Spain and is medium pink in colour, medium dry in taste and has fresh red berry flavours, which make it a great wine to drink, lightly chilled, in summer. View here. 2017 Reque Vin Bobal Tempranillo 16.5/20, 3.5 stars This is a big, juicy, ripe tasting, full bodied Spanish red blend of two grapes; Bobal and Tempranillo. Its spicy flavours and fleshy plum appeal make it an appealing wine to drink all year round. Lovely balance, great value for money. View here. Joelle Thomson is a wine writer, journalist and author. She’s an avid lover of wine and currently writes for Capital magazine, Good magazine, NZ Winegrower, Drinksbiz, and her own site, www.joellethomson.com. She also teaches, works in radio, and more, so we've enlisted her help to sniff out our amazing value wines!