Wines of the Year 2023: Value category and top scorers

Everyone likes a bargain and, as always, the Value category in Decanter’s 2023 Wines of the Year blind tasting revealed some exceptional bottles at £20 and under.

‘I really did question whether some of these wines had mistakenly been put in the wrong flight – that they were Classics, worth easily twice the price,’ remarked Anne Krebiehl MW.

This was the case with our Value Wine of the Year, the 2023 spring release of Hidalgo’s La Gitana Manzanilla En Rama Sherry, which is widely available in the UK for as little as £17 for a 75cl bottle.

Scroll down to discover the 28 top-scoring Value wines under £20 in Decanter’s Wines of the Year 2023

Fortified wines always represent great value for their quality and complexity and, to emphasise its calibre as a producer, Hidalgo’s La Gitana Manzanilla Pasada, an aged style from the Pastrana Vineyard (priced from just £14.99), was another of the 28 wines nominated in the Value category that scored 90 points or more.

Michaela Morris was particularly impressed by the two 2018 traditional-method sparkling wines from Spain and South Africa that punched well above their weight for the price.

KWV’s Laborie Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique Brut – available from £15 – and Juvé & Camps’ Reserva de la Familia Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava (£19.99) are perfect party wines to see in the new year.

Even though the scores were pretty even between the 12 red and 10 white still wines that ultimately earned their place in our top bracket, it was interesting that the judges felt the quality of the whites was higher.

‘To me, the Value whites blew the reds out of the water,’ said Krebiehl. ’Usually my inclination is to go for a value red – that you can get away with the cheap and cheerful better in a red wine than a white. But the whites nominated here were so expressive and full of tension and purity – sometimes I felt they couldn’t possibly cost less than £20.’

She singled out for special praise the 2017 Elizabeth Semillon from Mount Pleasant in Australia’s Hunter Valley (£19.25) and Pieropan’s 2022 Soave Classico – an Italian classic and widely available for as little as £15.50.

Morris, meanwhile, championed what she said were some ‘solid, reliable’ reds that represented exceptional value for the quality.

Topping her list was the 2020 Bekaa Specially Selected Lebanese Red from Aldi for just £8.49 – a wine which Decanter regularly recommends in its supermarket roundups.

See the score table for all 28 ‘value’ wines tasted for Wines of the Year 2023 that scored 90 points and above

Wines of the Year 2023: The 28 wines at £20 or under to seek out

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