France has sunk to fifth place, behind Australia, the US, Italy and South Africa as a supplier of wine to UK retailers, but at Waitrose the French are still number one. This might merely reveal Waitrose's wine buyers as a pack of old reactionaries, but I like to think of it as firm evidence that Waitrose knows its customers, and gives them what they want. There is certainly no other supermarket with a French wine range that remotely equals that of Waitrose. Where else would you find both the best red vin de pays bargain on the market, Cuvée de Chasseur 2009 at £3.99 (it scores 10 in this edition) and one of the grandest grand cru classé clarets of them all, Château Léoville las Cases 2003 at a mere £166.25? The latter wine makes no appearance in this edition as I have not been privileged to taste it, but I think you'll get the drift.
Waitrose does enjoy a uniquely upmarket profile, but I am entirely convinced that its wine range competes on even terms with all its rivals. I have picked out a dozen sub-£5 wines this year for terrific quality and value among the 100 featured on the following pages - by a mile the longest entry in this edition and, yes, a genuine representation of just how various and good value the Waitrose offering is.
Most of the wines mentioned here should be found in the stores - now 228 of them throughout the country - but some I have noted as Waitrose Direct buys, which means available only online or by phone on 0800 188881. The website is a good one, and you can buy the full range ('more than 1,200 wines, spirits and champagnes'), mixing your own cases. Other supermarket sites (barring Booths) insist you buy by the unmixed or pre-mixed case.
You do need to buy a minimum of 12 bottles, though, any mix, to qualify for free delivery. And here's a promise from Alex Murray, manager of Waitrose Wine Direct: 'You can now order up to 7pm and still get your wines delivered before 10.30am the next day.' Go on, take him at his word.
Red wines
Argentina
9 Familia Zuccardi FuZion Shiraz/Malbec 2009 £5.19
It really is a fusion of fruit and firmness - a generous, grippy young red at a keen price.
8 Fairtrade Tilimuqui Cabernet Sauvignon/Bonarda 2009 £6.65
Strong (but modest 13% alcohol), dark and spicy well-made and well-intentioned Famatina Valley food red.
Australia
7 Brown Brothers Tarrango 2008 £6.49
Pale, Ribena-style, quirky, dry-finishing, lightweight picnic red to drink cool.
8 Finca Flichman Reserve Oak-Aged Malbec 2009 £7.19
Stonking (14% alcohol) sweet pruny red is long and juicy.
9 Waitrose Reserve Shiraz 2008 £8.99
From the redoubtable St Hallett winery in the Barossa, a pitch-dark, rich but balanced blackberry-cassis red of real character with 14.5% alcohol.
8 Wirra Wirra Church Block Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot 2008 £10.99
Pepper-the-target blend has reassuring leather whiff, dark well-upholstered deep spicy blackfruit flavours and 14.5% alcohol. Dependable old friend.
Chile
8 Virtue Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 £4.19
Eco-wine of soft, agreeable briary style is jolly good value.
8 Los Unidos Fairtrade Carmenère/Cabernet Franc 2009 £6.19
Nicely edged firm blackcurranty blend has fresh-fruit appeal.
8 Concha y Toro Sunrise Merlot 2009 £6.29
Plump and ripe 'entry-level' red from Chile's dominant producer has healthy, lipsmacking juiciness.
8 Mont Gras Reserva Carmenère 2009 £8.19
Familiar brand excels with this brightly purple briary chocolate-hearted vanilla-oaked nicely integrated smoothie with 14.5% alcohol.
10 Cono Sur Reserva Merlot 2008 £8.99
Simply fabulous minty, dense, plush, perfectly weighted 14% alcohol big brand that in this vintage hits the spot. It aspires successfully to the elegance of Bordeaux, with a luscious ripeness all its own.
9 Tabali Encantado Reserva Syrah 2008 £10.99
Lovely slinky-spicy oaked style has huge black fruit (14.5% alcohol) with sultry savour and edgy tannins. Good now, but must have years of evolution ahead.
France
10 Cuvée de Chasseur 2009 £3.99
'It is arguably my cheapest wine that I am most amazed by, the loyal Cuvée de Chasseur, a veritable beacon of value.' So says Waitrose buyer Andrew Shaw of this plump, healthy, blackberry perennial southern vin de pays. I agree entirely.
8 Classic Côtes du Rhône 2009 £4.49
Bright and vivid red-fruit cheapie with a pinch of white pepper is good value.
8 Corbières Réserve de la Perrière 2008 £4.69
Gripping, spicy Mediterranean food wine from an appellation that can be coarse. This one stands out for intensity and suppleness.
9 Saumur Les Nivières 2009 £6.99
Elegantly weighted Loire wine is deliciously expressive of the lush, leafy Cabernet Franc grape, a red wine that refreshes in every sense.
8 Minervois Gérard Bertrand Syrah/Grenache 2007 £6.99
Winter-fuel purple red is meaty and robust with suggestions of cinnamon, thyme and pepper; 14% alcohol.
8 Calvet Reserve Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 £7.99
Big wine under a big Bordeaux brand name is deep purple with substantial, rounded blackcurrant fruit. Regularly discounted, a true bargain to look out for.
9 Faugères Domaine Marie 2009 £7.99
Perfectly lush deep-purple juicy spicy-minty Mediterranean red with wafts of the garrigue and a sublime weight.
8 Georges Duboeuf Chiroubles 2009 £8.99
Firm, structured Beaujolais cru suggests 2009 is a lovely ripe vintage with wines that will evolve, including this one.
8 Domaine de la Croix de Chaintres Saumur Champigny 2008 £9.99
Grippy-leafy typical loire red with good weight of purple, dark berry fruit. Nice definition makes it a great match to starchy or fatty foods.
8 Château Cesseras Minervois La Livinière 2007 £12.99
Blood red Mediterranean monster has lavish red fruit, spicy depths and mature roundness; 14% alcohol. Waitrose Direct.
8 Gigondas Patrick Lesec Les Espalines 2007 £14.99
Huge (15.5% alcohol) Rhône with a complex melange of black fruit.
9 Monthélie 1er Cru Les Riottes Vincent Girardan 2007 £19.99
Pure-silk burgundy from a tiny Volnay neighbour is worth the price. Waitrose Direct.
8 Château Larrivet Haut-Brion 2004 £24.99
Extraordinary Graves (Bordeaux) prestige wine from an overlooked vintage is oloroso colour with a rich, cigar-box nose and ripe, mature classic-claret fruit with figgy oak.
Greece
10 Tsantali Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 £8.49
A rabbit out of the hat. From Halkidiki in Greece's Balkan north, a wildly delicious, ripe-cassis, mature, silky Cabernet with 14.5% alcohol but beautifully balanced between power and purity. Drink this wine and save Greece!
Italy
7 Saluti Rosso 2009 £4.99
Brisk redcurrant pasta wine from Nero d'Avola, Sangiovese and Syrah grapes sourced in Sicily.
9 Vignale Valpolicella 2009 £4.99
Fully fruity cherry-bright rendering of the old Verona favourite is plump and ripe - a very pleasant surprise at the price.
8 Barbera d'Asti Superiore Vincio-Vaglio I Tre Vescovi 2007 £7.99
Juicy and unexpectedly weighty plummy bouncer with rather extravagant richness. You'll warm to it.
9 Waitrose Ripasso di Valpolicella Classico Superiore Fratelli Recchia 2006 £9.99
Quirky Valpolicella variation has dark-hearted mellow cherry fruit and weighty intensity with 14.5% alcohol. Try with cured meats and pongy cheese.
New Zealand
8 Craggy Range Merlot 2007 £12.99
Lush, integrated blackberry smoothie is immediately impressive, with 14.5% alcohol - Kiwi Pétrus?
Portugal
8 Dão Pena de Pato 2007 £6.99
Firm, pruny red with crisp edge to match oily fish, especially sardines.
8 Tinta da Anfora 2007 £7.29
Perennial Alentejo in yet another excellent vintage is dark and savoury, highly individual in that eucalypt, spicy Portuguese way, and 14% alcohol.
8 Arco do Esporão 2008 £9.99
I thought I detected a pomegranate note amid the spice of this delicious, concentrated dark-fruit Alentejo red with 14% alcohol.
8 Cortes de Cima Syrah 2005 £10.99
Pure Syrah but distinctly Portuguese with its exotic minty-herbaceous notes amidst lush, rich, oaked dark flavours; 14% alcohol.
South Africa
9 Zalze Shiraz/Mourvèdre/Viognier 2009 £6.49
Brambly monster (14.5% alcohol) of near-black colour has a pleasingly comfortable weight and a bright freshness of fruit. charming, and cheap.
9 Southern Right Pinotage 2008 £11.99
Named after the Southern Right whales that are seen in Walker Bay, location (one mile inland) of the vineyard, this is an exceptional minty-roasted-liquorous oaked Pinotage befitting the price.
8 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 2008 £16.99
Jumbo spicy, Syrah-based dance-on-your-tongue, silky-oaked 15% alcohol red-meat-matcher doesn't evoke chocolate, but has a proper fruit-and-nut centre.
Spain
7 Gran López Tinto Campo de Borja 2009 £4.79
Perky Garnacha-Tempranillo party blend with a decidely firm finish and 14% alcohol.
8 Viña Herminia Rioja Crianza 2005 £8.29
Convincing vanilla-raspberry balance in this rather plush mature Rioja with 14% alcohol.
8 Chivite Gran Feudo Navarra Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2005 £11.99
Whopping stalwart dark plummy fruit bomb from underrated Navarra, neighbour to Rioja.
9 Viña Arana Rioja Alta Reserva 2001 £19.99
Antique has a lovely ruby-orange colour, high-toned near-spirity aroma ('haunting', I foolishly noted) and delicate but well-defined classic Rioja fruit. Fabulous, which it needs to be at the price.
USA
7 Virtue Californian Red 2009 £4.19
New eco-wine (bulk-shipped, lightened glass UK bottle, etc) is light, quite sweet, but healthy-tasting.
Pink wines
Australia
10 Brown Brothers Moscato Rosa 2009 £6.49
Smoked-salmon colour and tingly bit of spritz in this delightful grapey contrivance with just 7% alcohol but masses of interest. it is not quite a sweet wine, but a charming one. i've tasted nothing else quite like it.
Chile
9 Miguel Torres San Medin Cabenet Sauvignon Rosé 2009 £7.29
Bubblegum colour to this consistent zingy-crunchy summer soft-fruit cooler. Fine minerality.
France
8 Champteloup Rosé d'Anjou 2009 £6.15
Loire pink has smoked salmon colour, floral nose and a strawberry ripeness just short of sweet with just 11% alcohol.
8 Esprit de Buganay Rosé 2009 £8.49
Pale pink Côtes de Provence has elegant floral perfume and dry but intense summer soft fruit.
Italy
8 Italia Pinot Grigio Rosé 2009 £6.49
Liked this in spite of misgivings about pink wines made from white-wine grapes. The colour comes from added Pinot Noir, is a perky magenta and there is keen, fresh raspberry fruit.
Portugal
8 Vida Nova Rosé 2009 £8.49
Lurid fresh generous strawberry-grapefruit dry refresher from Sir Cliff Richard's Algarve estate.
South Africa
9 Zalze Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Rosé 2009 £6.49
Strong attractive colour, emphatic ripe berry fruit, 14% alcohol, dry and refreshing, and a good price.
Spain
8 Marquesa de la Cruz Garnacha Rosé 2009 £7.15
Big colour, 14% alcohol, reducurrant campo de Borja food-matching rosé with crunchy freshness.
White wines
Australia
9 Googee Bay Semillon/Chardonnay 2009 £4.99
Yellow, plump, autumn-fruit bargain of great charm. Ignore the naff label.
8 De Bortoli DB Selection Verdelho 2009 £6.29
Likeable fruit-salad Riverina dry has a keen raciness as well as lush oaky notes - just the thing with Asian recipes.
7 Yalumba Organic Viognier 2009 £7.99
Amid the ocean of flabby sweet Viognier, this one stands out for its twang of grapefruit acidity.
8 Vasse Felix Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2009 £9.99
Brisk but not green, generous Bordeaux-type dry white from Margaret River is full of life.
Austria
8 Domäne Wachau Terraces Grüner Veltliner 2009 £7.99
Fine mineral aperitif of obvious merit, it's lush and lively, just off-dry.
Chile
8 Virtue Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay 2009 £4.19
Easy-drinking, crowd-pleasing eco-wine.
England
6 Chapel Down Flint Dry 2009 £7.69
Spare but not austere reasonably balanced dry appley refresher, but unwarrantably expensive.
7 Chapel Down Bacchus 2009 £9.49
Wasps' nest smell and an intriguing rhubarb note in the dry, fresh fruit, but at the price you're being stung.
France
8 Cuvée Pêcheur 2009 £3.99
Eager but not green Toulouse vin de pays is a refreshing bargain.
8 Domaine de Plantérieu 2009 £5.49
Clean, balanced party white from Gascony is just 10.5% alcohol.
8 Fief Guérin Vieilles Vignes Muscadet 2009 £6.49
From posh-sounding AC Côtes de Grandlieu Sur lie, this is a flinty, briny flavour-packed spin on the usually acid Muscadet theme, with a big hint of cock-a-leekie on the nose.
8 Saumur Les Andides 2009 £6.99
Fascinating balance of zing and ripe orchard fruit in this vigorous Loire Chenin Blanc with a waft of honeysuckle. A marvel at the price.
8 Cheverny Le Petit Salvard 2009 £7.99
Big bracing loire Sauvignon with vegetal fruity and limey finish.
8 Vouvray Domaine de Vieux Vauvert 2008 £7.99
'Medium-dry' Loire Chenin Blanc is soft (not sweet) and seductive in its balance of ripeness and citrus edge. Fine aperitif.
8 Dom Brial Muscat de Rivesaltes 2007 50cl £8.49
Poised, grapey vin doux naturel with 16% alcohol and luscious but controlled sweetness. Waitrose Direct.
8 Bouchard Aîné et Fils White Burgundy 2008 £8.99
Smartly packaged Mâcon/Côte d'Or blend has gold colour, apple-pie richness, crisp finish.
9 Menetou-Salon Domaine Henry Pellé Vignes de Ratier 2008 £11.99
Lush Loire Sauvignon with a lick of richness from sur lie ageing has bold green orchard flavours to match saucy fish dishes.
8 Waitrose Sancerre la Franchotte 2009 £11.99
Richly coloured and nuanced pebbly-but-plump grand Loire Sauvignon by respected Joseph Mellot is good value by Sancerre standards.
10 Domaine Naudet Sancerre 2009 £12.49
Super stony Loire classic with zippy Sauvignon grassiness and a basketful of fruit. My Sancerre of the year.
9 Château Jolys Cuvée Jean 2007 £12.99
Golden-hued, Sauternes-style sweetie from Pyrenean AC Jurançon is honeyed but beautifully balanced. Great treat with foie gras.
9 Waitrose Sauternes 2006 37.5cl £13.49
Ambrosial pudding wine from legendary Château Suduiraut is superb now and will keep, and keep.
9 Vouvray Domaine Huet Le Haut-Lieu Sec 2007 £18.49
Esoteric dry but lush Loire Chenin Blanc from a great biodynamic estate is at once luxuriant and mineral. A glorious aperitif wine.
Germany
8 Kendermanns Special Edition Riesling 2008 £5.99
From the people famed (notorious?) for the Black Tower brand, this is a different construct altogether, a brisk but ripe and long classic appley Rheinpfalz Riesling.
8 Dr Wagner Riesling 2009 £7.99
Light in weight and just 10% alcohol, this fine, slaty, racy Moselle has a delectable honey note.
9 Dr Bassermann-Jordan Riesling 2008 £8.99
Lovely apple-strudel Rheinpfalz off-dry but crisp-finishing classic Riesling with 10% alcohol.
8 Dönnhoff Kreuznacher KrötenpuflRiesling Spätlese 2006 £18.99
From a biodynamic Nahe vineyard (Krötenpufltranslates as 'frog pond'), a lovely long sweet-apple, racy mature wine just showing a petrolly nuance; 8% alcohol.
Hungary
8 Eva's Vineyard Chenin Blanc/Pinot Grigio/Királyleányka 2009 £3.99
Pleasing honeyed autumn smell and friendly fresh fruit - a sunny bargain.
Italy
8 Vignale Pinot Grigio 2009 £4.89
Flowery-nosed fresh and friendly variation on the theme has a touch of nectar to broaden its appeal.
10 Inycon Growers' Selection Fiano 2009 £6.49
Apples and pears, peaches and hazelnuts in the cornucopia this dazzling Sicilian wine evokes. Bountiful, but dry and upliftingly fresh. i believe the Fiano grape is the rightful heir, should Pinot Grigio falter in popularity.
8 La Monacesca Verdicchio di Matelica 2008 £9.99
Distinct from the usual Castelli di Jesi of the Marches, this is a hefty vegetal dry wine of arresting intensity and weight. Great food-matcher.
New Zealand
8 Waitrose Sauvignon Blanc 2009 £8.79
Made by the ubiquitous Villa Maria, a brisk, briny and spangly Sauvignon in the authentic Kiwi tradition.
10 The Ned Pinot Grigio 2009 £9.99
The excellent name is that of a high peak in the Waihopai Valley of Marlborough with the synonymous vineyard on its lower slopes. The wine is just the slightest shade pink, and the smoky, exotic orchardy fruit is beautifully extracted in the Alsace Pinot Gris style, with 14% alcohol. My Kiwi wine of the year.
9 Seifried Estate Sweet Agnes Riesling Ice Wine 2008 £13.99
Amazing stickie from grapes picked frozen is a beautiful nectar at 10% alcohol. Is there anything the Kiwis can't do? Waitrose Direct.
7 Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc 2007 £22.99
With an eye on the price, I thought I detected aromas of both coffee and toffee in this extraordinary oak-fermented millionaires' wine. Nice, though. Waitrose Direct.
South Africa
8 Arniston Bay Lighthouse Collection Chenin Blanc/Colombard 2009 £5.29
In spite of myself, I liked this mega-brand for being clean, brisk and not too sweet - and 10% alcohol.
8 Springfield Estate Special Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2009 £9.39
Tart citrus acidity over copious asparagus fruit in this vivid wine for adult tastes.
8 Ken Forrester The FMC Chenin Blanc 2008 £17.99
Super-ripe fruit salad (banana and sweet melon included) dry and impactful luxury wine with 14.5% alcohol is pricey, but its unique appeal outdoes plenty of overpriced white burgundies I can think of. Waitrose Direct.
Spain
6 Torres Natureo 2009 £5.99
This is 'de-alcoholised' wine and as such i wouldn't dream of drinking it, but by the miserable standards of these products, this isn't bad; tastes something like a dry-ish Muscat grape-juice.
9 Viña Esmeralda 2009 £6.99
Perennial favourite from Torres is a dry but grapily aromatic Muscat-Gewürztraminer blend in the Alsace style, but lighter and very fresh.
8 Marqués de Murrieta Capellania Reserva Rioja 2004 £17.49
Grand old unreconstructed white Rioja is gold, nutty-rich and apple-sweet with a whiff of petrol.
USA
10 Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2008 £7.99
Not the most upbeat of names, but this sublime lush, plush gold-coloured creamy but apple-crisp de luxe dry Californian white (from the Livermore Valley south of San Francisco Bay) has all-weather appeal at what seems an inexplicably reasonable price. is the secret the 3% Gewürztraminer in the blend?
Fortified wines
Portugal
10 Sandeman Imperial Tawny Port £9.65
Silky, figgy, copper-ruby-coloured tawny easily mistakable for a ten-year-old has focused intensity of fruit, creamy toffee richness and clean edge (20% alcohol). Terrific quality and character for a port at this price. Biggest branches only or Waitrose Direct.
8 Henriques & Henriques Full Rich 3-Year-Old Madeira £11.49
Nice genteel sweet blend with fire-island char and lovely figgy-nutty fruit. Accessible, and can be chilled; 19% alcohol.
9 Blandy's Single Harvest Malmsey 2001 £14.99
A rare colheita (vintage-dated) Madeira of dark hue, roasted, toasted intense fruitcake flavours of almost austere purity as well as wicked richness and 19% alcohol. Just lovely and great value as an after-dinner drink. Biggest branches only or Waitrose Direct.
9 Blandy's Sercial 10-Year-Old Madeira 50cl £18.99
Bronze colour, orange-zest nose, dark near-burnt conserved fruit flavours, really quite dry. Fabulous to serve chilled; 19% alcohol. The Bual and Verdelho in this range are equally heavenly in their ways.
Sparkling wines
France
8 Ackerman Sparkling Cabernet Franc Rosé Brut £7.99
Delicately pink Loire fizz is bright with summer soft fruit and thoroughly convincing.
8 Charles Viénot Brut Royal £14.99
Not champagne but a 'vin mousseux de France' made by a family with Champagne connections. It has a zingy elderflower nose, distinctly champagne-like fruit and sparkle and works very well indeed.
8 Waitrose Special Reserve Vintage Champagne Brut 2002 £26.99
Affable mellow brioche style to this lovely mature vintage wine at a fair price.
8 Taittinger Prestige Brut Rosé £40.99
Frightfully expensive, but this elegant, non-vintage, pink champagne does deliver the most amazingly focused and wildly ebullient strawberry fruit - really remarkable.
Italy
8 SanLeo Prosecco £7.99
Positively yeasty and vigorously fizzy just-dry style with real charm and 11% alcohol. Stands out.
Spain
8 Waitrose Cava Brut £6.99
Major improvement on the usual tinny cava style, this has a big apple smell and plenty of brisk fresh orchard fruit.