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Read below about some of our favouirte merchants by Master of Wine, Chris Burr and our resident wine expert, David Andrews. See his Instagram blog @oinosattheoikos

Is Naked Wines any good?

Christopher Burr. Master of Wine. April 2023.

Updated 16/04/2024

I have, until recently, been a bit of a sceptic about Naked Wines. Was the subscription membership support really enabling wine makers to make better and hugely beneficially priced wines, or was this simply good marketing presentation of a good concept?

Well, I was recently sent a case of six bottles of some of their most popular wines, and it has made me revise my views. There are some interesting wines there, and good value.

Having worked with and in vineyards around the World, I have a pretty good idea of the cost of production. So the range I was sent between £7.99 and £9.99 (Naked members prices) actually, I feel, is good value for the quality level, particularly when you take into account packaging, shipping, warehousing, duty, free delivery within a day or so, and vat on top. And I guess the wine-maker and Naked staff have to make a living.

Of the three whites sent, for me the best was the South African, Kruger Family Sauvignon Blanc. The wines coming out of South Africa are getting better, and this comes from one of the best and most famous areas, the Stellenbosch.

This wine was not one of those "grassy" green, tart, sauvignons which I find too astringent. This wine is full with nice fruit and acidity, and complexity with citrus fruits and good persistence. Good food wine for all fish dishes. £9.99 to Naked Angles.

The Stefano Di Blasi Bianco Trevenezie, is exactly what one would expect and hope for from a North East Italy white blend, part Soave, part Pinot Grigio: crisp dry and fresh. It is a good "fridge" wine for an occasional aperitivo, or for salads and summery dishes. This is a sound, straight forward, well made "crowd pleaser". Again £10.49 for Angels.

The third white is a rich apricot and lychee perfumed Viognier from the South of France. Benjamin Darnault's Viognier, which is dry but has some creamy almost sweet texture as well as the peach and apricot bright fruit. Another wine at an Angel price of £10.49, and good for salads and white meats, but very good with a cheese board.

For me, again, I had a favourite of the three red wines, the lovely Portuguese blend of local grape varietals, which makes a complex elegant and beautifully balanced, gentle red. The Montaria Vinho Regional from south of Lisbon.

This wine would be perfect with roasted chicken, or pork. Good value at £8.99 for Angels, with Portugal producing some of the best value wines in the World.

The other two wines were big and gutsy reds, particularly the Christian Patat Primitivo from the very South of Italy in Puglia. With "moreish" attractive dark berry fruit, but balanced with good fresh acidity, to make it a perfect accompaniment with roasted, grilled, or barbecued red meat. This is a real crowd-pleaser, and worth the very reasonable £9.99 for Angels.

Finally, the soft, rounded Arabella Merlot from South Africa's Western Cape. Lots of dark cherry and plum fruit, very easy drinking wine, although at 14.5% alcohol, a bit heady. But highly competent winemaking at a good price £7.99.

All these wines, I note, are vegan and vegetarian certified.

I was impressed by the range, some good variety and for anyone signing up, masses to discover and choose from.

As a parting shot, I have recently come across the Simpsons. who started making wine in the L'Herault in the South of France. An excellent viticultural area making excellent wines, just in the hills north of Beziers. They more recently planted a vineyard in 2014 in Kent, to make an excellent English sparkling wine. But I see that Naked are offering their Simpsons of Servian Sparkling Rose for £14.99 for Naked Angels, which is a very good deal for pink fizz. Ideal, affordable, party wine!

Naked Wines, definitely worth a try.

Check out our vouchers below to get saving on these great wines!

Wine52 showcases Italy’s Abruzzo region

Abruzzo lies in the centre of Italy along the Adriatic Sea. Depending on where you plant your grapes, you can experience two very different climates. On the slopes by the Apennines you can experience warm but short summers and frequent snow in Winter whilst on the coast the weather is generally very warm and Mediterranean most of the year.

It is a region best known for Montepulciano which dominates the vineyards. It is also known for fairly high-volume production, particularly on the warmer, fertile coastal plains. Besides Montepulciano, there are two main types of Trebbiano (Toscana and Abruzzese) grapes, which are often not distinguished between, as well as Sangiovese and Pecorino. However, international grape varieties are growing in planting and popularity in the region and that is what Wine52 mainly sought to showcase in my case: A Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot Grigio and a Trebbiano.

How were the wines?

Amarena Merlot

It was an enticing red berry colour which more or less screamed soft, fruity merlot from the off. On the nose this was quickly confirmed as all that really came to mind was a light fruit bomb, exuding flavour. Once the initial hit had slowed, you can pick out fruits like morello cherry, red plum, blackcurrant, cranberry.

A fruit forward palate then leads the charge with cherry and plum the front runners. There's actually a rather good touch of dried cranberries too. A nice spice underlies the fruit, but the fruit still remains as the leader by the finish, with a good length. The lightness and intensity of the fruit flavours make this immensely enjoyable. On top of that, the very soft mouthfeel due to the lower tannin make this one easy sipper.

Angizia Cabernet Sauvignon

My immediate thoughts on the nose were, quite the change from the Merlot. This is much more savoury in nature, more mellowed. Little hints of violet and dried fruits speak of a complex wine. The fruits are red and ripe in nature giving blackcurrant, cherry and plum.

Although the wine is not sweet, some sweet tasting flavours came through due to the ripe nature of the fruit. It’s important to note that this was not in a synthetic way but a very natural, good wine sort of way. Tannins are fine and dusty, with a good level of grip which adds to the medium body and plush mouthfeel. On top of the mellow, savoury fruit feel, additional herbaceous characters such as tomato leaf follow on the end in a way that only Cab can do it.

Delizia Pinot Grigio

The whites were equally enjoyable and will likely appeal to many people. So, with that in mind, let’s start with an ever popular grape, Pinot Grigio.

Pinot is known and loved for a reason. It's inoffensive, fresh, floral, and fruity and sometimes you can't complain about that. This wine hits that nail on the head. Although Abruzzo isn't the common region you'll find Pinot Grigio from, it certainly puts a nice upgrade on the typical wines of Venezie. Yes, it is fairly simple in PG fashion, but the flavours are bolder, brighter and more intense than your average drop. The initial sip pops with fresh apple, pear and lemon which is then underscored by minerality bringing a harmonious balance to the wine. White blossom, peach, tangerine and a hint of honeysuckle hold the body together and mingle well with the citrus. Whilst the finish isn't super long, it doesn't necessarily need to be for such a fresh wine. You'll just keep going back for more anyway!

Lu Ferre Trebbiano

The final white, the Lu Ferre Trebbiano is the most Italian of the bunch, mainly thanks to the uniquely Italian grape.

Trebbiano is better known for its role in Soave wines but that doesn’t mean it performs badly elsewhere. Quite the opposite in fact!

It came off as delicious from the off on the very first sniff. In many ways it wasn't too dissimilar to the Pinot Grigio, except I'd argue the flavours were better softened and integrated together whilst the body was fuller. The fruits were riper, with red apple, lemon zest and yellow peach. The mineral element was much higher here too giving a nice chalky backbone. The finish also lingered ending in a green apple, citrus twist. Soave fans will certainly like this one, albeit with less acidity than the usual Soave style.

Laithwaites in the forefront of the discovery of some exquisite Provence Rose's.

By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr

I have a number of longstanding connections with rose' wines, I was involved with the marketing a Mateus Rose' in the 1980's, helped by Princess Margaret who often asked for "that slightly fizzy pink wine in the pretty bottle"! And I was the agent in the Uk for Domaine Ott, then brand leader in Provence rose' and other good wines.

So it was with some sadness to see the sales of rose' wines decline as they became so unfashionable in the 1990's, mainly due to sweetish, dull, rose' from Anjou. Rose' fell seriously out of fashion, as was seen as "naff".

In the UK by the late 1990's rose' had declined to less than two percent of shipments to the UK.

I have been enthralled to see a rapid revival, so that now rose' wines account for between 12 and 15% of the market, and are growing fast. This is not just fashion; these are now some very good wines.

In the late 1960's early 1970's I worked for the Russian-American wine guru, who wrote the first encyclopaedia of wine, Alexis Lichine. We were based in Bordeaux. His son Sacha was a small boy when I was there , but now forty years later, he has been seriously instrumental in bringing very good, even classic, wine from Provence to the market from his property Chateau d'Esclan, where his top rose' wine, Garrus sells for £100 a bottle!

In the UK by the late 1990's rose' had declined to less than two percent of shipments to the UK.

But you will have undoubtedly heard of his most popular wine, Whispering Angel, as it has become something of a benchmark, but, rather like the late Princess Margaret and her Mateus, Ivana Trump has always publicly made it her wine of choice, a marketing man's dream.

Laithwaites have always been at the forefront of trends, and in Provence there are lots of great vineyards, (some planted by the Romans two thousand years ago), so It is not surprising that their buying team have also found some great wines.

I have just tasted five Cotes de Provence and Coteaux d'Aix en Provence rose's which they have on offer, and I have been blown away by their quality, variety and sheer class.

I have had difficulty deciding which is my favourite and the best, because there are a number of contenders, they are individual, some more mineral, other more complex fruit, some very gentle and elegant an others more powerful. But they are all good wines.

I have just tasted five Cotes de Provence and Coteaux d'Aix en Provence rose's which they [Laithwaites] have on offer, and I have been blown away by their quality, variety and sheer class.

The simplest, and understandably the least expensive is the 2021 L'Art de Provence for £9.99 for a mixed case of six. This wine is juicy, with good citrus and wild berry fruit. A very quaffable party wine, and good with lots of summer dishes, fish, pasta, hors d'oeuvres, cold meats and salads.

Shop L'Art Provençal Rosé >

Then there were four wines, which I would call exceptional for their unique character and individuality. From the Domaine de Paris in the Cotes de Provence hills some 500-800 metres above sea level, with hot sunny days and cool nights to retain the vital acidity, Laithwaites have chosen two wines. The Old vine (Vielles Vignes of 80 years old, giving more concentrated fruit flavours,) 2021 in a classic "skittle" Provencale bottle. This was one of the biggest wines, with lovely intensity from a dash of the Syrah grape in the Grenache blend, lots of dried fruit and wild strawberry aromas and a lovely fresh finish, although not the most expensive at £13.99 for a mixed case of six, this was one of my favourites.

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But then, from a single vineyard high up and in a very pretty dumpy bottle, was a most elegant very pale pink rose'. The Domaine de Paris's Notre Dames des Anges, the name of the Chapel on the site. This is gentle, elegant, crisp and classy. In some ways more like a top white wine than a pink one, and some halibut, turbot, sea bream or even Oysters seem to beckon Quite appropriately this is a bit more expensive at £17.99 for a mixed six.

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Next was Aix Quisite, cleverly named wine from the Coteaux d'Aix, inland where lots of interesting different grapes proliferate, like the gutsy Cinsault, the white floral vermentino, called Rolle in the region, as well as Grenache. Again, nicely packaged in the skittle Provencale bottle, this is a complex wine, dry and mineral, with lovely fruit and acidity, again one of my favourites. £13.99 for a mixed six.

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Finally, in a most elegant clear bottle like a fine Champagne, the Seraphin Rose 2020 has lovely ripe fruit citrusy freshness and a complex white pepper finish. Another of my favourites from the Cotes de Provence, and another elegant wine to rival some top white wines, and equally good with shellfish and fine fish dishes.

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Bravo to Laithwaites, and their wine buyer for such a fine selection. These are good enough to rival some of the more famous names from the region.

Updated 27th September 2023