Like our recent list of 20 great value French white wines under £25, this list also spans the whole of France covering the major red wine regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon as well as the Pays d’Oc IGP in the southwest, a region known for its wallet-friendly French red wines.
The list is dominated by the red wines but does also include a number rosé wines including one pink sparkling wine from the Limoux region in the south-west of France – the Château Martinolles Rosé is ‘precise and elegant with linear acidity, berry characters and a biscuity autolytic note’ – and a canned rosé from the Mirabeau team in Provence. This is refreshing and tasty with ‘a lovely red berry fruit flavour, ripe cherries, raspberries and wild strawberries, alongside hints of grapefruit and apricot.’ Perfect for picnics.
The other rosés come from Languedoc, Rhône, Provence and Burgundy, a region not normally associated with rosé. All are well worth seeking out.
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A handful of own-brand supermarket wines make the list – perfect for stocking up straight from the high street – with Aldi’s Château Chantemerle Médoc 2017 coming in at under £10. It’s a ‘smooth, leathery and spicy Bordeaux’. Elsewhere on the high street the Tesco Finest Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 offers ‘dense but sappy black fruit’ for £18.
Top wine regions of Margaux and St-Émilion in Bordeaux are also represented, as well as Anjou in the Loire, Beaumes de Venise in the Rhône and Beaujolais cru Broilly.
Three superb reds from Burgundy are also worth tracking down – and splashing out on. They include the aromatic, fruit-forward Plan Gilbert 2019 from Hubert Lignier and Domaine Michel Lafarge’s L’Exception 2019, described by Charles Curtis MW as ‘aromatic with pretty floral notes on the nose.’
A sweet wine also features on the list – Les Vignerons de Maury, Solera 1928 Cask No849 from the Languedoc. It’s fortified Grenache made in a solera, similar to Sherry, and is full of fruit cake, fig and nutty flavours – a great choice for existing fans or worth seeking out for those unfamiliar with the style. Less than £20 for a slice of history.
See 25 of the best French red and rosé wines under £25
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Château Martinolles, Rosé, Crémant de Limoux, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
91
A really lively palate with intense small bubbles that fill the mouth straight away and leaves a lovely vibrant taste on the tongue. It has precise and linear acidity with strawberry and raspberry flavours and a biscuity autolytic note. Elegant and finessed flavour with depth that just keeps going and going.
Château MartinollesCrémant de Limoux
Domaine Bruno Clair, Rosé, Marsannay, Burgundy, France, 2019
A great classic. Rosé is traditional in Marsannay, thanks to Bruno’s grandfather, who 'invented' the category at the end of the First World War; it...
2019
Domaine Bruno ClairMarsannay
Chateau Barbebelle, Rosé Fleuri, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France, 2019
93
Ripe stone fruit, summer berries and rose aromas. Raspberry and ripe cherry provide sunny, warm fruits on the palate that sit alongside balanced acidity and an appealing weight.
2019
Chateau BarbebelleCoteaux d'Aix-en-Provence
Château La Gordonne, Provence, France, 2019
91
A bright, expressive rosé with berry, peach and pink-grapefruit aromas. Made from a classic Provence blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, it’s generous and refreshing, with strawberry and raspberry juice offset by a subtle floral touch, finishing dry and full of citrus zest.
2019
Château La Gordonne
Gérard Bertrand, Hampton Water Rosé, Languedoc, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, 2019
90
A fun, feisty collaboration between Jon Bon Jovi, his son Jesse, and Gérard Bertrand, Hampton Water Rosé brings together the legends of music and wine in a single bottle. Ripe red fruit meets lemon peel, the fruit is forward, aromatic and refined, with spicy notes and a touch of garrigue playing in the background. Medium-bodied, with a crisp, clean finish.
2019
Gérard BertrandLanguedoc
Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Paralléle 45 Rosé, Côtes du Rhône, Rhône, France, 2019
89
Named after the 45th Parallel which crosses the Rhône Valley, this is an organic blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah. Appealing strawberry and spice aromatics, with more of the same on the palate plus bright citrus notes and a focused acidity that persists through the mouthwatering finish.
2019
Paul Jaboulet Aîné
Mirabeau, Prêt-à-Porter Canettes Rosé to Go!, Méditerranée IGP, Southwest France, France
88
Quite deep in colour for a Provence rosé, this blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah offers a generosity of strawberry and peach fruit. It's a dry wine (less than 1g/L residual sugar), but it has a sweetness of fruit to it and good acidity to keep it fresh. A crowd-pleasing style.
MirabeauMéditerranée IGP
Domaine Laurent Martray, La Folie, Beaujolais, Brouilly, Burgundy, France, 2017
An exciting wine from the up-and-coming domaine of Laurent Martray, this Brouilly has great purity and interest yet weighs in at only 12.5% alcohol. There...
2017
Domaine Laurent MartrayBeaujolais
Domaine des Bernardins, Beaumes de Venise, Rhône, France, 2019
Immediately interesting on the nose, the herbs and flowers come first, thyme and lavender, then the raspberry fruit. Medium-bodied, good sense of freshness and definition...
2019
Domaine des BernardinsBeaumes de Venise
Domaine Gayda, Chemin de Moscou, Pays d'Oc, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, 2017
93
A heady mix of hedgerow fruits, bramble and summer berries following through on the palate to a juicy and really lively concoction of red cherries, jammy blackcurrants and stewed strawberries. These combine with black pepper, hints of cinnamon and soft touches of violets to create a complex and generous mix of flavours. It has a wonderfully soft texture but at the same time is brimming with so much freshness and zing. You also don't feel the 14.5% ABV at all. From old vines, certified organic.
2017
Domaine GaydaPays d'Oc
Domaine of the Bee, The Bee-Side Grenache, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, 2018
93
This domaine's second label is 100% Grenache, with fruit from estate vineyards plus old-vine fruit from neighbour Domaine Lafage. Half the blend is whole-bunch fruit, giving the wine stemmy freshness and sappy tannins. Aromas of raspberries are joined on the vibrant, crunchy palate by blood plums, peppery garrigue herbs and vanilla from the 18 months in barrel, 25% new. Concentrated, moreish and delicious.
2018
Domaine of the Bee
Château de Plaisance, Sur la Butte, Anjou, Loire, France, 2019
93
Vanessa Cherruau’s wines are a delight! This biodynamic blend of two Cabernets boasts a floral, red-berry perfume. The silky palate balances sappy fruit tannins, vibrant acidity and fleshy summer-pudding fruit. Graceful, generous and moreish.
2019
Château de PlaisanceAnjou
Corney & Barrow, Margaux, Bordeaux, France, 2016
Heady and seductive, this Margaux comes from the highly respected Sichel family, winemakers and négociants in Bordeaux. It's a vivid purple colour in the glass...
2016
Corney & BarrowMargaux
Château La Courolle, St-Émilion, Montagne-St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France, 2016
92
Situated on the clay-limestone plateau, La Courolle has been owned by the Guimberteau family for 100 years, with fourth-generation Rodolphe now in charge. Merlot dominates with a small proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The palate is full, ripe and soft with leafy black fruit, subtle oak (33% new), fine tannins and a long finish.
2016
Château La CourolleSt-Émilion
Hubert Lignier, Plan Gilbert, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2019
The wine is crafted in the same way as the producer's other wines, with one-third whole clusters, giving an aromatic, fruit-forward nose, with floral notes...
2019
Hubert LignierBourgogne
Tesco, Finest, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France, 2016
91
A blend of old-vine Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre planted on the region's 'galets roulés' – large, smooth pebbles that absorb warmth during the day to keep the vines warm at night. Vinified and aged in concrete tanks, it has a dense but sappy black fruit palate, great acid structure and a lifted, leafy red fruit perfume.
2016
TescoChâteauneuf-du-Pape
Château Chantemerle, Médoc, Bordeaux, France, 2017
91
Aldi's Maison Rouge Claret is more than decent at £4.49, but splash out a couple of pounds more for this structured, smooth and quite delicious Cabernet-based Bordeaux. It's just getting those leathery, savoury hints too, to join firm black fruits, toasty spice and supple tannins.
2017
Château ChantemerleMédoc
Les Vignobles Foncalieu, Ensedune Malbec, Coteaux d'Ensérune, Pays d'Oc, France, 2018
Signature Languedoc characteristics here from Malbec grapes grown in one of the warmest and driest areas of France. Flavours comprise of well-balanced bright cherry and...
2018
Les Vignobles FoncalieuCoteaux d'Ensérune
Domaine Michel Lafarge, L'Exception, Bourgogne, Passetoutgrains, Burgundy, France, 2019
Lafarge has two plots in Volnay on the way to Meursault, co-planted with Pinot Noir and Gamay. The vines are more than 90 years of...
2019
Domaine Michel LafargeBourgogne
Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France, 2019
Blended from a patchwork of 18 different plots, all opposite either Chambolle-Musigny or Gilly-lès-Cîteaux. This shows a bright red berry fruit character, with floral notes,...
2019
Domaine Hudelot-NoëllatBourgogne
Domaine de Villeneuve, Happy Culteur, Pic St-Loup, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, 2019
Another great-value, zero-oak cuvée from splendid glacial soils near to Claret, Anne-Lise Fraisse’s Happy Culteur sings with fruit purity and freshness, yet there are satisfyingly...
2019
Domaine de VilleneuvePic St-Loup
Berry Bros & Rudd, Good Ordinary Claret, Bordeaux, France, 2018
89
Consistently one of Berry's best-sellers, this is textbook claret: smooth and rounded with aromas of cassis, mint and dark chocolate. Rich dark fruit, spice and smoky leathery notes on the palate. The limited-edition label for 2019 is by artist Poppy Lennox.
2018
Berry Bros & Rudd
Domaine Félines Jourdan, Rouge, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, 2019
89
A blend of Grenache and Syrah from an area of Languedoc-Roussillon known for value. It's a simple everyday red, at a great price: vibrant cherry in colour, with fresh red and black berry fruit flavours. Unoaked and easy drinking with soft tannins and immediate appeal. Enjoy it in its youth.
2019
Domaine Félines Jourdan
Les Vignerons de Maury, Solera 1928 Cask No 849, Maury, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
93
<p>Such a delicious treat for Christmas! The dynamic Maury cooperative makes this fortified Grenache using a solera system started way back in 1928 and releases wines from individually numbered casks - Berry's buyer Fiona Hayes selected 849. The fresh nose has enticing aromas of fruit cake, baked apple and figs. The luscious figgy palate has complex dried fruit and nut notes, but also incredible freshness, with red apple bite. Like a fine old Madeira and tremendous value for money. Bring on the cheese board!</p>
Les Vignerons de MauryMaury