At The Oxford Wine Company we spend our days surrounded by thousands of delicious wines, spirits and beers. But which of them do we decide to drink at home? Take a look below for our team’s top picks for this month.
What We’re Drinking in June
Ted Sandbach, Owner & Chairman
Domaine Clavel Cordelia Chusclan Côtes du Rhône Villages 2020– £14.00 £12.760 – This red is soft and gentle, with concentrated fruit flavours, a hint of spicy garrigue, and a touch of pepper. A great food wine.
Miopasso Pinot Grigio 2022 – £10.50 £9.45 – This wine has a real depth of flavour with bright acidity. Lovely rounded wine with a soft mouthfeel. A far cry from your cheap brands!
Domaine Jean-Max Roger Menetou Blanc Le Clocher d’Amélie 2021 – £21.00 £18.90 From a lesser-known appellation in the Loire but this wine offers great value. Grassy, crisp, and fresh with a hint of spice and fennel. Much better than most Sancerres!
Neil Gladding, Sales Director
Pouilly Fumé, Petit Fumé, Michel Redde et Fils 2022 – £17.50 £15.75 – Getting better with every vintage – superb Sauvignon Blanc.
Quintas do Homem Vinho Verde 2023 – £13.00 £11.70 – Perfect for the sunshiiiiine!!
John Shuckburgh, WSET Educator
Vina Ardanza Reserva, La Rioja Alta 2017 – £34.00 £30.60 – From the best Rioja winery, La Rioja Alta, comes the best Reserva on the market. Fresh and cooked black fruits mingle with coconut and smoke from extended barrel ageing leading to the longest finish. It’s a masterpiece of wine-making and really incredible value at the price.
Domaine Gayda Sphere Viognier, Pays d’Oc 2023 – £11.00 £9.90 – It wouldn’t be summer without a bottle of this in my fridge. Perfumed, with delicate and fresh tropical flavours of melon and peach. Just the thing for the garden!
Vina AB Amontillado, NV – £19.00£17.90- A seriously sophisticated drink. Bone-dry Amontillado with apple and yeasty notes from Fino that blend perfectly with the walnuts, coffee and raisins of Oloroso. Such complexity – and for under 20 quid!
Tom Brady, Shop Manager & Spirits Buyer
Passagem Tinto, Douro 2021 – £18.00 £16.20 – Give this wine a little time to breathe and enjoy some incredible concentration and complexity for a wine under £20.
Ardnahoe 5 Year Old Single Malt – £70.00 £63.00 -A brand new distillery from the Isle of Islay and the first to incorporate a fabled worm tub condenser into production. Power and funk with a deliciously fruit forward finish.
Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2020 – £27.50 £24.75 – The wine that just won the Judgement of London at the 2024 London Wine Fair. A delicious dry Riesling with a proportion of botrytised grapes adding layers of complexity
Tim Bradley, Trade Sales & WSET Educator
Dominio de Tares ‘La Sonrisa de Tares’ Godello 2022 – £17.00 £15.30 -Light and refreshing, with a lip-smacking lemon and hints of lime. Great aperitif or with summer salads – quenching!
Cave de Prissé Mâcon Prissé Les Clochettes 2022 – £18.50£16.65 – Deliciously tasty soft peach and lemon fruited Burgundy with a hint of tangerine! Long finish. Terrific value!
Native Cuvée Côt Francais Malbec, Pays d’Oc 2021 – £11.50 £10.35 – Soft, easy quaffing ripe plum and black-cherried wine, with light but defined character. Perfect with summer barbecues!
Katy Barker, Retail Marketing Manager
Bodegas Hidalgo, La Gitana Manzanilla, NV – £11.50 £10.35 – Sea and sunshine in a glass! This is the perfect aperitif to be enjoyed ice-cold, with a range of Mediterranean nibbles. Something different for those upcoming summer parties.
Illimis Chenin Blanc, Darling 2022 – £35.00 £31.50 – The perfect expression of South African Chenin Blanc (and one of my favourite wines on the shelf)! Concentrated, ripe stone fruits are balanced with a savoury, buttery finish and a saline edge.
La Cayetana Malbec, Uco Valley 2020 – £23.50 £21.15 – This minimal intervention Malbec is the first wine on my mind when it comes to BBQ meats. Richness and ripeness of the pure, dark fruit flavours really makes this a stand-out wine.
Mark Warde-Aldam, Shop Manager
Domaine Hatzimichalis Alepotrypa Assyrtiko 2022 – £16.50 £14.85 – Assyrtiko is probably Greece’s most famous white, often from Santorini. Aromatic with a citrus-y punch. Go on… try something different.
Delheim Edelspatz Noble Late Harvest Riesling 2021 – £27.50 £24.75 – A star performer at the recent College tasting. Perfect balance of acidity and sugar with honeysuckle and tropical fruit flavours. Riesling is my favourite dessert wine.
Château Saint-Roch Lirac Rouge 2021 – £17.00 £15.30 – A stone’s throw away from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueras but less famous. This is my ‘go to’ Red Rhone. Exceptional value!
Min Yee Tseu, Corporate and University Account Manager
Château Megyer Hárslevelű, Tokaji 2014 – £16.00 £14.40 – This is an absolute banger of a (dry) wine (with hints of peach and apricot sweetness) from a region that is more often associated with dessert wines.
Paul René Cap Classique Brut 2019 – £24.75 £22.28 – Made using the traditional method, this is 100% Chardonnay that has been aged on the lees for almost four years – excellent bang for your buck and delivers all those rich, toasty notes that I love!
Don Fulano Reposado – £62.00 £55.80 – I gifted this to a friend for graduation and it went down a treat – let’s just say that the bottle didn’t make it to the next day…
Emily Silva, Head of Retail and Marketing
Pieropan La Rocca, Soave 2022 – £39.50 £35.55 – You thought you knew Soave? Think again. Pieropan are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in this region. Volcanic soils, judicious use of oak and amazingly concentrated grapes make this a truly stellar wine.
Select Aperitivo – £19.50 £17.55 – Based on a Venetian recipe from the 1920s, this is going to be a regular feature in my glass this summer! Mix with Prosecco and Soda for a beautifully bittersweet Spritz.
Quinta do Correio, Dao 2020 – £14.00 £12.60 – A real gem of a wine – beautifully balanced with juicy berry fruit, and absolutely delicious served just a little bit chilled. This is what you need for barbecue season!
Nick Gorton, Shop Manager
Oldenburg Vineyards CL White Blend, Stellenbosch 2022 – £17.50 £15.75 – I love Chardonnay and I love Chenin, so no surprise I love this blend of the two! Ripe and rich, but with elegant fruit and floral character.
Les Terrasses de Saint Christophe Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2020 – £23.00 £20.70 – This wonderful St. Emilion shows that Bordeaux isn’t always a high-alcohol brute that needs a food pairing. At 12.5% and with some softer fruit flavours, this is an elegant Merlot based blend that can be enjoyed on its own.
Gonzalez Byass, Leonor Palo Cortado – £21.00 £18.90 -An amazing sherry that is unbeatable for the price. Rich and full bodied, with lots of dried fruit and nut characteristics. Amazing with salty snacks!
Thom Allinson, Buying & Logistics
Domaine d’Ardhuy Côte de Beaune-Villages Rouge 2022– £35.00 £31.50 – A red Burgundy that is worth the money! Elegant red and dark fruits with a smokiness from delicate oaking. Simply delicious.
Alma Gemela Garnacha, Levalle 2021– £19.50 £17.55 – A focus on sustainable practices in the vineyard and minimal intervention in the winery by the amazing Mariana Onofri has produced this fresh and crunchy Garnacha full of red fruit. Perfect at cellar temperature or slightly chilled.
Marc Brédif Vouvray Classic 2022 – £21.50 £19.35 – Off dry Chenin full of ripe peach, pear, and tropical fruit flavours with a mouthwatering acidity to carry the sugar. Amazing now but will age, developing more honeyed and nutty flavours.
Romain Alaphilippe, Shop Manager
Hugel & Fils Riesling Classic, Alsace 2022 – £22.00 £19.80 – I presented this wine to my lovely people of the Botnar Research Centre at a recent tasting! The classic expression of Alsace terroir, high acidity, flavours of citrus, stone fruits and elderflower! Délicieux!
Domaine Gayda Flying Solo Grenache/Syrah, Pays d’Oc 2022 – £11.00 £9.90 – An excellent blend from Languedoc at a small price! Vibrant fruitiness, red berries, dark fruits, pepper and spices! Merci Vincent Chansault!
La Higuera Dasylirion Wheeleri Sotol – £55.00 £49.50 – I wrote an article for our blog about it! Earthy, herbal and floral flavours, very subtle. Made like a Mezcal but not from an agave!
Emma Bristow, Wine Advisor
Domaine Hatzimichalis, Alfega Lefkos Malagousia/ Robola/ Sauvignon 2023 – £16.50 £14.85 – Light apple and pear aromas with a touch of tropical fruit too, with a well balanced, creamy texture. Would pair perfectly with salads and light summer evening suppers!
Akashi -Tai Junmai Ginjo Sparkling Sake £18.50 £16.65 – A zesty sparkling sake, made in the same method as Champagne, with delicate hints of lemon, peach and banana. A delicious aperitif!