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 September
Ted Sandbach, Owner & Chairman
Château La Tuilerie du Puy, Bordeaux 2021 – £15.25 £13.73 – Who says you can’t find value for money in Bordeaux? This has all the classic characteristics I love in a Bordeaux. Plummy richness, touches of blackcurrant, and a hint of age.
Sylvain Martel Julienas Bessay 2023 – £31.50 £28.35 – Wonderful earthy natural wine with more a hint of garrigue. Underneath this is some lovely dark fruit yet it maintains the classic Gamay character. This was a wine I couldn’t quite work out but I think it is brilliant and the most enjoyable wine I have drunk in ages. It won’t be what you expect from a Beaujolais but savour every mouthful.Not cheap but it’s worth the splurge!
John Shuckburgh, WSET Educator
Château de Lamarque Haut-Médoc 2020 – £32.00 £28.80 – Very decent claret. Packed with blackberry and damson fruit, vanilla, chocolate and spices. With refined tannins and a long, aromatic finish this punches above it’s price and reminds me of what Bordeaux does best. Enjoy it now, but worth keeping if you have the patience!
La Rifra Lugana DOC Libiam 2025 – £17.75 £15.98 – A delightful white from the Veneto with peach, melon and apple mingling with white flowers that fill the palate. Made from the Trebianno grape to an exceptional standard. A beautiful summer wine.
Barboglio De Gaioncelli , Franciacorta Brut NV – £31.50 £27.90 – An absolute bargain of a quality sparkling wine made in Italy by the Champagne Method from Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir). It’s blended with 20 year-old reserve wines and bottle aged for 20 months. Rich, deep and complex this is sophisticated fizz!
John Chapman, Managing Director
Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse, Pauillac 2020 – £60.00 £54.00 – Still young but surprisingly approachable. With a half hour of aeration this delivers a wallop of classic bordeaux fruit and cedar. For an affordable top drawer claret look no further.
Billecart Salmon Le Rosé, Champagne NV – £79.75 £71.78 – What can I say ‘probably the best pink fizz in the world!’
Los Vascos Chagual Sauvignon Blanc, Colchagua Valley 2023 – £19.50 £17.55 – I am not normally that emphatic about non Loire sauvignon blancs, but this single vineyard expression from the master expertise of Los Vascos really captures the freshness of the grape and the maritime climate and altitude of the vineyard. A great testament to how good (when they try) Chilean wines can really be.
Lucy Harrison, Retail Operations Manager & Spirits Buyer
Château Cantemerle, Haut Médoc 2020 – £50.00 £45.00 – I always find that Chateau Cantemerle offers great value for money. Ripe blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar notes combine with polished tannins, and an elegant finish.
Lochlea Orchard and Oak – £54.00 £48.60 – From one of our favourite indie distilleries Lochlea, matured in ex-Bourbon and Calvados casks, expect notes of apple pie, fudge and a light cereal note.
Ciabot Berton Alissa Favorita, Langhe DOC – £19.75 £17.78 – This is a gem from Piemonte. This Favorita (Vermentino) shows green apples, pears and citrus intertwined with tropical fruits, with an underlying minerality throughout. I enjoyed this recently with a salmon risotto.
Mark Warde-Aldam, Shop Manager
Jackson Estate ‘Somerset’ Block 2 Single Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2017 – £20.50 £18.45 – Unusually aged Sauvignon from the awesome 2017 vintage. Producing a concentrated elderflowery flavour. From the Jackson Estate single vineyard series.
Clos Uroulat, Charles Hours Jurançon Moelleux 37.5cl 2023 –£16.50 £14.85- Interesting alternative to Sauternes but better! From the Pyrenees this has an amazing floral and honeyed nose and a luscious finish.
Chatto `Lutruwita` Pinot Noir, Tasmania 2023 –£49.75 £44.78- Interesting alternative to Sauternes but better! From the Pyrenees this has an amazing floral and honeyed nose and a luscious finish.
Katy Barker Hill, Retail Marketing Manager
Chateau Cos d’Estournel ‘Les Pagodes de Cos’ Saint-Estephe 2020– £65.00 £58.50 – In my opinion, the second wines of top Bordeaux wineries are the place to look, and here is a perfect example. Dark, juicy and beautifully polished, with plenty of blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, gentle spice and a lovely savoury edge.
Weinhof Waldschütz Grüner Veltliner Fels, Wagram 2024 – £26.50 £23.85 – A wonderful example of just how good Grüner Veltliner can be! Richly textured with hints of white peach and melon but an edge of minerality and white pepper to keep it fresh.
Min Yee Tseu, Corporate and University Account Manager
Vignobles Moreau La Clef de Voute Saint-Émilion 2021 – £33.00 £29.70 – 100% Merlot this is a wonderfully quaffable Bordeaux that’s ready to drink now or to cellar for a few years!
Harrow and Hope Blanc de Blancs, Buckinghamshire 2020 – £33.00 £29.70 – I recently had this in a line up of wines that went all the way to £100, and everyone agreed that this wine punches above its weight. Absolutely delicious!
Clare Lobo, Events and Tasting Manager
Alexander Sichel Ocha Collines Calcaires 2024 – £19.50 £17.55 – A super elegant blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Something more delicate and different to try if you already know classic Bordeaux!
Ribas del Cúa Oncedo Godello, Bierzo 2025 – £18.50 £16.65 – Fresh and easy to drink but not a simplistic wine! Floral, herbal and green fruit notes all make this a lovely white to keep enjoying into the autumn months.
Manda Joyce, Wine Advisor
Château Cambon la Pelouse Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Médoc 2019 – £25.50 £22.95 – A multi-layered, concentrated, velvety yet elegant Bordeaux from an estate that’s been exporting to our islands since the 1600s. Drinking beautifully now.
Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2023 – £20.50 £18.45 – Come on an Odyssey to Greece courtesy of Apostoles Thymiopoulos, star maker of native grape Xinomavro. Think of it as Pinot Noir’s robust and acerbic big brother.
Emma Bristow, Wine Advisor
Niepoort Nat Cool Drink Me Bairrada Tinto 2025 – £23.50 £21.15 – Made from the Baga grape, a fabulous red to chill slightly giving bright fruit flavours of wild strawberry, cherry and raspberry with some floral notes and a hint of thyme. Easy to drink – enjoy on its own or with an easy supper! Oh and you get a whole litre of enjoyment!
Château du Glana, St Julien 2017 – £33.50 £30.15 – Composed of 65% Cabernet and 35% Merlot, this wine is in its perfect drinking window. Notes of blackcurrant, red cherry, cedar and spice, silky tannins with a long, elegant finish. Pair with almost anything, from roasts to full-flavoured fish dishes and also pasta dishes.
Domaine Apostolidi ‘Agia Triada’ Assyrtiko PGI Kavala 2025 – £23.25 £20.93 – From a biodynamic family run winery in Northern Greece. Delicious notes of lime blossom, orange zest, passionfruit and peach with a long-lasting minerality. A refreshing and elegant wine that would pair well with tuna, swordfish and chicken.
Duncan Laing, Shop Manager
Donjon de Lamarque, Haut-Médoc 2022 – £19.75 £17.78 – Chateau de Lamarque’s great value second wine. Majority Merlot in the blend marries with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to produce a well-balanced, fruit-forward expression with notes of mulberry, blackberry, blackcurrant and oak-aged undertones.
Domaine Sauvion Baronne du Cléray Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur Lie 2025 – £13.25 £11.93 – Aromas of apple blossom, citrus and a hint of asparagus lead to flavours of lemon, lime, green apple and pear. A classic match with oysters and other light fish dishes but equally delicious on its own!
Tiefenbrunner Turmhof Lagrein 2023 – £25.00 £22.50 – A big wine at a small price! Great concentration of fruit balanced with refreshing acidity and a mineral backbone. A fine expression of the terroir of the Upper Blaauwklippen Valley.
Chris Campbell, Wine Advisor
Domaine Lequin Colin Back to the Roots Bourgogne Blanc 2022 – £32.50 £29.25 – Great value white Burgundy. Very lightly oaked but not overpowering the fresh stone fruit. Attractively full, round and rich. The Lequin family comes from a long lineage of Burgundian producers; their presence in Santenay dates back to 1679.
Domaine Chevallier Chablis 2024 – £26.50 £23.85 -A classic Chablis that is bright and expressive, with notes of lemon zest, crisp pear, and green apple layered over subtle chalky minerality. Fuller and richer in the mouth than one would expect from a basic Chablis.
Château Haut Bergey, Pessac-Léognan 2021 – £31.50 £28.35 – I’ve known the Bergey vintages through a friend and then visited the Chateau two years ago. This is a classic Pessac-Leognan with enticing notes of blackberry, leather and cigar box that complement a touch of spice. Great with rich red meats or on its own.
Tanya Little, Shop Manager
Tornatore Etna Bianco DOCG 2025 – £23.50 £21.15 – Grown on a volcano…very cool! (or probably very hot actually). Jokes aside, this is one delicious, herbal, zesty Carricante from an increasingly popular region.
La Rifra Lugana DOC Libiam 2025 – £17.75 £15.98 – Crisp, yet creamy, with a lovely vibrant peach and citrus pith note. This one was love at first sip for me!
Les Terrasses de Saint Cristophe, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2023 – £24.25 £21.83 – A silky blend of power and elegance from a great year in Saint Emilion. Merlot-dominant, with a splash of Cabernet Franc to add some spice making this a very moreish wine…and it’s a Grand Cru Bordeaux that doesn’t break the bank, which is hard to come by!