Wines of the week: 11 organic bottles

Organic wines have come a long way since the days of high prices for a mere whiff of a farmyard... the high street is now laden with great bottles on a budget

The declaration by the Soil Association (SA), which gives its stamp of approval to organic produce in the UK, that this is “Organic September” may be nothing more than a marketing wheeze. But, hey, it’s a good cause and what better excuse to round up some of the excellent organic wines now available.

It’s also worth noting that we have moved on a long way from the time organic wines attracted premium prices for nothing more than a slight whiff of the farmyard and a certain feeling of righteousness when we drank them.

We now also have biodynamic and natural wines in abundance, as well as those marketed as sulphite-free and vegan friendly, all tapping into our desire for wines which are made from pesticide-free vines, are true to their terroir and where the human hand of intervention is minimal. And this also usually involves small producers, taking care and pride in their wines.

But also, consumers need to be vigilant – wines which are certified as organically produced must have some kind of stamp of approval on the label, such as the SA gives to our domestic products, which is often a green leaf symbol or similar. If the label does not have that kind of authentication, then it’s not guaranteed organic.

One of the surest indications that organic has now entered the mainstream is the number of ranges in high street supermarkets, many at budget or affordable prices, which suggests that the costs of turning organic are now much more realistic than they once were.

One of the best is the Sainsbury’s So Organic range, which includes the very dry, vibrant So Organic Prosecco (£10.00 Sainsbury’s), a perfect aperitif or party wine and the excellent South African So Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (£6.50 Sainsbury’s) which is great value for the price as well as being fair trade and sulphite-free, two more plus points. Full of robust, chunky fruit flavours laced with chocolate and tarry hints, it’s a real crowd-pleasing guzzler, particularly for any September barbecues.

Among the other supermarkets, Waitrose have an extensive range of organic wines, which include the Maree d’Ione Organic Fiano 2017 (£8.79 waitrose.com) a lovely, floral scented, pear and almond flavoured white made from the fiano grape in Puglia – one for seafood pasta. Also, the rich, robust and velvety Gabriel Meffre Organic Cotes du Rhone 2016 (£9.99 waitrose.com), a very typical grenache/syrah blend from the Rhone; as good with a proper rare steak as for a barbecued sausage. Ocado also has a decent organic range and the Tempranillo Azan Bodegas Latue 2016 (£9.50 ocado.com) made from high altitude grapes, grown in the La Mancha region of central Spain, is a real gem. A little chilling will really develop the wine’s juicy, succulent black fruit flavours.

But well before organic became mainstream, pioneering online retailers, such as the estimable Vintage Roots, were specialising in organic wines. It’s here that you can find slightly left field delights such as the Austrian pink Meinklang Prosa Frizzante, (£12.99 vintageroots.co.uk) made from an exotic blend of pinot noir, saint laurent, zweigelt and blaufrankisch, which is simply gorgeous: very lightly sparkled, cherry-red, crisp, dry and fantastically moreish.

And while Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is definitely not a left field wine, the Walnut Block Nutcracker Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (£13.99 vintageroots.co.uk) delivers a wholly different take from the normal grassy gooseberry flavours due to the presence of indigenous natural yeasts. It’s a real mouth filler, with rich, weighty flavours of tropical fruits and green herbs; it’s basically crying out for rich fish dishes or roast pork and herby chicken. Another retailer which has a very strong list of organic wines is Hay Wines and includes the Alfredo Maestro Vina Almate 2017 (£13.69 haywines.co.uk), a tempranillo from central Spain which is also biodynamic, vegan and sulphite free. But, more importantly, it’s very good: packed with rich dark plum, black cherry and chocolate flavours, shot through with a leavening acidity. Great with paella or pasta dishes.

Similarly, Red Squirrel wines specialise in small, sometimes idiosyncratic producers, many of whom are organic and sometimes working with obscure grapes, such as the Bruna Pigato Maje 2016 (£24.00 redsquirrelwine.com). Made from a rare clone of the vermentino grape, grown on steep terraces – called maje - in Liguria in northwest Italy. Crisp, herbal, slightly saline and almost spicy, it’s a wine with a real sense of place and is true to its origins. And a fine wine to kick off a dinner party, with some oysters or smoked salmon.

Talking of such meals, let’s close on a couple of big dinner party reds, perhaps for the first big casseroles or roasts of autumn, both of which are intriguing Euro-South American hybrids, made even more sumptuous by organic production. In Chile, the Matetics, who have Croatian roots, produce rare cool climate syrah (as well as other single varietals) grown to organic and biodynamic principles. The Corralillo Syrah Organic 2014 (£15.66 armitwines.co.uk) is smooth, elegant and spicy with typical blueberry and violet flavours, but thankfully, due to bottle ageing, lacking the raw edge of some New World syrah. And from Argentina, but made by expatriate Italians, the Masi Tupungato Corbec 2015 (£25.57 corkingwines.co.uk £25.99 farehamwinecellar.co.uk) is predictably big and powerful, combining malbec with corvina grapes, a proportion of which are semi-dried in the ‘appassimento’ style used in Amarone, among others, which delivers concentration and depth, followed by oak ageing. These wines can be paired with big flavours of baked fruits and pudding spices, which might make you want to think about this nearer to the festive season. Which is not so far away...