Over £20 Pick List

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14 October 2026

This list is for when you are looking to celebrate a special occasion, host a memorable dinner party or simply treat yourself to something truly exceptional.

Over the last year, I have tasted over 1500 wines at retailer press tastings to bring you my favourite premium wines priced over £20.

Asda

Louis Bernard Champagne Brut 2018 12.5% £28.00: A precise and toasty brut Champagne showcasing citrus and orchard fruit framed by deep autolytic complexity.

Champagne Veuve Olivier & Fils Secret de Cave NV 12% £28.00: Aged for five years on the lees, this beguiling Champagne offers fresh apple, honey, and rich, creamy brioche flavours.

Benoît Renaud Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru Champagne NV 12% £32.00: An intense Grand Cru Champagne delivering crisp citrus, green apple, and white floral aromas backed by almond and rich brioche.

Co-op

Les Pionniers Champagne Brut NV 12% £26.75: A classic, refreshing Champagne with a harmonious mix of toasty brioche, apple, and citrus flavours.

Majestic

Rijckaert F. Rouve ‘Sur le Marnes’ Côtes du Jura 2023 13% £20.00: A creamy, wild-fermented Jura Chardonnay layering citrus, stone fruit, and hazelnut with a generous mouthfeel.

Château Peyrassol ‘XIIIE’ Organic Rosé 2025 13% £22.00: A delicate organic rosé combining bright red fruit notes with zesty citrus and a light, refreshing finish.

Montaudon Réserve Première Brut Champagne NV 12% £27.00: A crisp, citrusy Champagne delivering orchard fruit flavours layered with bread and biscuit complexity.

Côté AIX Magnum 2025 12.5% £28.00: Very pale salmon in colour, this fruity dry rosé magnum offers lovely strawberry and white flower aromas.

Thelema ‘The Mint’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 14% £32.00: A rich, structured Stellenbosch red delivering dark fruit notes with a distinctive eucalyptus and cedary finish.

Roebuck Estates Rosé Reserve 2019 12% £39.00: An extremely pale sparkling rosé delivering aromas of lemon, green apple, and brioche with crisp acidity and rich leesy complexity.

Billecart Salmon Le Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Champagne NV 12% £76.00: An elegant Grand Cru Champagne with deep citrus, apple, and pastry aromas balanced by autolytic creaminess and a dry finish.

Morrisons

The Best English Sparkling Grand Reserve Brut NV 11.5% £22 to £24: A complex, layered sparkler featuring crisp citrus, green apple, and baked pastry notes with fine bubbles.

Etienne Leclair Signature Collection Champagne 2016 12% £30.00: A fine and elegant Champagne offering fresh citrus and green apple flavours with deep brioche and roasted nut complexity.

Sainsbury’s

Taste the Difference Champagne Brut NV 12% £24.24: A crisp and refreshing Champagne with inviting citrus and orchard fruit flavours complemented by lovely bready lees complexity.

Taste the Difference Champagne Brut Rosé NV 12% £24.24: An elegant salmon-pink rosé Champagne offering fresh red berry and wild strawberry flavours alongside classic pastry complexity.

Croix Saint Paul Pomerol 2023 13.5% £25.00: An impressive, velvety Merlot-based Bordeaux filled with lush black cherry, plum, truffle, and cedar notes.

Taste the Difference Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne NV 12% £26.00: A fresh Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier Champagne featuring deep ripe apple aromas and a long, satisfying pastry finish.

Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvée NV 12% £55.00: A beautifully balanced premium Kent sparkling wine brimming with vibrant citrus, apple, chalky minerality, and elegant brioche notes.

Tesco

Léon Launois Champagne Brut NV 12.5% £20.00: A dry Grand Cru village Champagne delivering crisp citrus and orchard fruit backed by biscuit complexity.

Tesco Finest English Sparkling Rosé Brut NV 11.5% £22.00: A fresh sparkling rosé showcasing floral aromas, clear strawberry flavours, and light autolytic notes.

Penfolds Bin 8 2024 14.5% £25.00: A well-balanced Australian blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon offering concentrated red fruit and eucalyptus notes.

Tesco Finest Chablis Premier Cru 2023 12.5% £25.00: A dry, concentrated Chablis with an apple and citrus core, enhanced by texture from partial oak ageing.

Escarpment Pinot Noir 2022 13.5% £26.00: A premium New Zealand Pinot Noir boasting red cherry, cranberry, thyme, and savoury earth complexity.

Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne Brut NV 12.5% £26.00: A crisp Premier Cru Brut offering green apple, lemon, and pear with complex brioche notes and a chalky finish.

Nyetimber Classic Cuvée NV 12% £42.00: A crisp English sparkling wine with deep lemon and green apple aromas, pronounced acidity, and complex brioche notes.

De Saint Gall So Dark Grand Cru Vintage Champagne 2016 12.5% £47.00: A rich Grand Cru Vintage Champagne with 60 months of lees ageing bringing pronounced autolytic and roasted nut complexity.

Lanson Le Rosé Création 67 Champagne NV 12.5% £47.00: A brilliantly balanced rosé Champagne mixing red fruit with rich brioche notes and an impressive mouthfeel.

The Wine Society

Matetic EQ D.O. San Antonio Syrah 2021 14.5% £22.00: An intensely coloured Syrah offering complex aromas of blackberry, pepper, smoked meat, and dark spices.

Westwell Wicken Foy NV 12% £29.00: A crisp English sparkling wine with vibrant lemon, green apple, and toasty brioche complexity.

Clos de Luz Carmenère 2021 13.5% £31.00: A dark-fruited red from old vines featuring plum, blackberry, savoury herbs, and green peppercorn detail.

The Society’s Champagne Brut NV 12.5% £36.50: A crisp, bestselling Champagne combining green apple and orchard citrus with five years of bready lees-aged complexity.

Arbois Pinot Noir Sur la Côte Domaine la Grapp’A 2024 12.5% £38.00: An extraordinarily perfumed, pale Jura red bursting with redcurrant, cherry, raspberry, and an earthy finish.

Black Chalk Classic Hampshire 2022 12% £40.00: A bright, high-acid Hampshire sparkling wine offering intense dry apple flavours and rich bready lees notes.

The Society’s Exhibition Rioja Reserva Magnum 2020 14% £40.00: A classic Rioja Reserva in a magnum format delivering elegant dried red fruits, leather, tobacco, and sweet spice.

Kanonkop Estate Pinotage Simonsberg Stellenbosch 2015 14.5% £45.00: A complex, aged South African red featuring plum, blackberry, sweet spice, and savoury umami hints.

Koyle AUMA D.O. Los Lingues Colchagua Valley 2020 14% £49.00: A luxurious, full-bodied blend showing intense leather, smoke, black fruit, and generous length.

The Society’s Champagne Brut NV Magnum NV 12.5% £75.00: A fresh, light-to-medium-bodied Champagne in a magnum format, combining crisp citrus and orchard fruit with bready complexity.

Waitrose

Nanny Goat Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024 £20.00: A complex and fragrant Pinot Noir uniting red cherry and plum with dried herbs and earthy forest floor notes.

La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Rioja Reserva 2021 £22.00: A round, balanced Tempranillo seamlessly integrating ripe red fruits with balsamic notes of vanilla and caramel.

Château La Croix de Marbuzet Saint Estèphe 2021 £22.50: An elegant Bordeaux red showing ripe blackcurrant fruit, subtle spice, and a finely integrated oak influence.

Waitrose No.1 Brut Special Reserve Vintage Champagne 2018 £39.00: Produced by Champagne Castelnau, this pale lemon Brut Champagne offers inviting aromas of green apple and brioche that develop into a buttery caramel richness.

Masi Costasera Amarone Classico 2021 £39.00: A powerful, full-bodied Amarone packed with dried cherry, fig, dark chocolate, and roasted coffee.

Ferdinand Bonnet Vintage Brut 2014 £40.00: An intensely rich Champagne from the Côte des Bar boasting nutty depth and ripe fruit from eight years on its lees.

Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut NV £40.00: A classic Champagne combining crisp citrus and orchard fruit alongside bready, biscuity complexity from extended lees ageing.

Joseph Drouhin Côte de Beaune 2019 £40.50: A delicate, medium-bodied Burgundy Pinot Noir featuring red berries, floral hints, and soft, juicy tannins.

Nyetimber 1086 Prestige Cuvée Rosé 2013 £175.50: A high-end English sparkling rosé with fresh strawberry and red cherry notes balanced by refreshing acidity and creamy nougat.

Pick Lists

TipS – Infographics

Did You Know?

Australian wine exports to China have collapsed from around $1.2 billion to less than $10 million. More

Wine’s aroma is not determined solely by which flavour compounds it contains. More

Low-to-moderate wine consumption is associated with lower mortality. More

Moderate water stress can be part of what creates flavour and terroir expression. More

Wine appears less frequently online than other alcoholic drinks. More

Independent retailers had 9% fewer customers in March 2026 than two years earlier. More

Average spend per bottle in independents has risen by 23% since 2019, compared with 21% in supermarkets. More.

Nearly a third (32%) of UK consumers say they have already used AI for alcoholic drinks advice. More

Among socially active wine buyers, 37% have bought a wine recommended online. More

In 2026, 72% of consumers now think wine knowledge is essential to appreciation, up 20 percentage points on 2025. More

Rías Baixas wines reached more than 107 countries in 2025 and exports represented 31 per cent of the denomination’s total sales. More

Light Strike Can Cause Wine Degradation in Just One Day. More

People actively adjust their wine choices depending on who might see them. More

In the UK, 73% of Alcohol is Bought From Retail Rather Than Hospitality. More

UK wine production reached 124,377 hectolitres that year, meaning the UK accounted for roughly 0.05 per cent of world output. More

For Crémant, grapes must be harvested by hand and the wines must undergo at least nine months’ ageing before release. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest export market for Champagne globally, after the United States. More

Local UK bottling of wine represents about 40% of imported wine. More

Around 1% of people, typically severe asthmatics, have a sulphite sensitivity. More

A large 80% of Australian wine arrives in the UK in bulk. More

Only about 0.02% of Australia’s landmass is dedicated to vineyards. More

In 2024, New Zealand produced only 1% of the World’s wine. More

In 2024, the US imported 37% of World production of Pinot Grigio and the UK was is in second place at 27%. More

In 2024, the UK was South Africa’s largest export market, with 40% of total exports. More

In 2024, the United Kingdom imported 22.3 million bottles of Champagne, a decline of 12.7% compared to the previous year. More

Larger Champagne producers source grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards throughout Champagne. More

Champagne houses and growers collectively produce around 300 million bottles annually. More

In 2025, the Champagne region was home to about 2,124 Champagne houses and approximately 19,000 growers. More

Provence is one of the leaders in the conversion to organic viticulture, with 61% of vineyards certified. More

8% of the South Africa’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified. More

Up to 80% of wine aroma compounds come from grape skins. More

Glycerol is the third-largest component of most dry wines after water and alcohol which is why they so often feel ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ in the mouth. More

Humans are more than 400 times more sensitive to bitter than sweet. More

Humans can detect the earthy molecule geosmin at about 100 parts per trillion and camels are so sensitive to it they can locate damp ground from roughly 50 miles away. More

During the phylloxera crisis of the nineteenth century, 90% of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed. More

In 2025, for La Vieille Ferme, also known as “The Chicken Wine”, sales surged by 49.4% to £110.8 million. More

In 2025, in the UK, Yellow Tail held the top position with sales, marking a 9.8% increase over the previous year. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest wine importer in volume and value. More

In 2024, the UK was the fifth-largest wine-consuming country globally. More

In 2025, global wine consumption continued its downward trend, estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres, the lowest since 1961. More

In 2025, online alcohol sales had a 20% increase in value over five years. More

In 2025, the number of UK vineyards rose to 1,104 and wineries to 238, with land under vine expanding to 4,841 hectares, a 510% increase since 2005. More

Moët Hennessy alone commands nearly 46.66% of the Champagne market, with the top three producers together holding about 61%, and the top five controlling over 72%. More

In 2024, the Champagne market was worth roughly €3.92 billion. More

In the marketing year 2023/24, white wine accounted for roughly 55% of Spain’s output, whereas red and rosé together made up about 45%. More

In the UK, 92% of wine is consumed within 48hrs of purchase. More

The majority of wines, 95%, use commercial rather than wild yeast. More

Between 0.5 and 10 litres of water, per litre of wine, are needed for cleaning during winemaking. More

Machine harvesting can achieve up to 100 tons of fruit per day vs 1 ton for a human. More

In Germany, 2025 was the smallest wine vintage since 2010. More

The majority of vineyards, 90% in 2019, are farmed with heavy chemical interventions. Only 6% are organic. More

90% of low and coastal areas in south Europe and California will no longer be able to produce good wine by the end of the century. More