Wine Champion Winners Case

Our Wine Champions tasters voted this a winner in 2026. ‘Such a crowd-pleaser’, this cracking-value claret really hit the spot. With deep purple colour and generous plum and chocolate, it’s a ‘friendly, classic claret with some guts to it.’ Another taster noted its ‘great depth – it’s something that I think everyone’s going to enjoy.’

A 2026 Wine Champion, where as one taster said, ‘in a line-up of fruity, charming reds, this just had a bit more depth.’ A bramble-packed South African blend of shiraz, mourvèdre, cinsault and carignan, this comes from an amazing vintage. Others praised its ‘pure, vibrant fruit’, ‘lovely dark berries’ and friendly tannins.

From beautiful sun-drenched organic vineyards, the nero d’Avola fruit used for this wine is really seriously good. Picked often at night to retain freshness, it is first fermented in a state-of-the art modern winery, before all going to small oak barrels for extended ageing in Feudo Arancio’s underground cellars before blending. The bespoke blend changes each year, and we are always astonished by the value the result offers. Bold yet balanced, it’s a wine that so many of our members love, and its winning performance in our 2026 Wine Champions tastings showed why. ‘Soft, full and ripe’ with ‘plump black fruit and a hint of coffee’, it performs a brilliant balancing act between fruity generosity and oak-influenced spice and structure.

We know what you drank last summer… and it’s back! And it's a 2026 Wine Champion to boot. The new vintage of this barnstormingly popular, delicately spritzy Austrian white has won our buyers' blind tasting yet again. With its ‘refreshing, sparky acidity’, ‘exuberant, vibrant fruit’ and low alcohol, it’s an absolute peach of a wine.

Langhorne Creek is one of South Australia’s most historic, yet perhaps lesser-known wine regions, producing classically styled, high-quality shiraz at remarkably attractive prices, making it the perfect source for a Society wine. With its rich and colourful history, Langhorne Creek stalwarts Bleasdale Wines is one of the oldest wineries in Australia. Quality and consistency lie at the heart of all they do. From the outset, the ambition for this wine has been to create a shiraz that punches well above its price, delivering all the generous fruit and classic character you would expect from Australia’s signature red grape, but with a depth and complexity that sets it apart from its peers. The result is a superb benchmark for Australian shiraz, offering exceptional quality and character at a price that makes it all the more appealing.

A New Zealand take on an Iberian grape that was voted a Wine Champion this year by our blind-tasting panel. ‘Peach, grapefruit, passionfruit and a hint of nettle leaf’, all in such ‘smart balance’ mean that, whether it’s seabass, salmon or prawns on the barbie, Anna’s Way is the right one!

‘Like biting into a Granny Smith apple’, this southern French zinger jumped out at our Wine Champions tasters with its ‘sherbetty acidity, freshness and crunch.’ One noted that ‘people who like sauvignon blanc are going to love this.’ And what a great price, too.

A ‘peachy, characterful and lively’ expression of the grape behind Soave, garganega, so good it's been voted a 2026 Wine Champion. ‘Fragrant and with more concentration than its price suggests’, it has delicate sage, pear and citrus aromas that continue on the light, dry palate. Get that fridge door ready!

Our Wine Champions tasters summed it up perfectly as it swept to victory in our 2026 tastings: ‘Peachy, lemony, charming and easy-drinking. This would be lovely served chilled on a nice sunny day – preferably in Italy.’ Need we add anything more? Enjoy!

One of the best-value reds with our name on it. Former Society buyer Joanna Locke MW did a huge amount of work to put Portuguese table wines on the map and one of her brilliant buys was our own-label red. Made from native grapes, full of authentic personality and at price that makes it brilliantly affordable, it was an incredible success from the off. It has bought so many members into our Portuguese range. And in the Mediterranean reds round of our 2026 Wine Champions blind tastings, where ‘the standard and the pleasure factor were so high’, it shone like a beacon. Hailed for its ‘immediate, juicy generosity’, it’s truly a house red of Champions!

A Wine Champion for 2026, this is an inspired Languedoc blend of chardonnay, sauvignon and viognier, which conspire to give an ‘understated, beautifully balanced, zesty’ wine with a herbal hint of garrigue.

‘Pencil shavings, pomegrante, pepper, pot-pourri… all the Ps, actually!’ This southern French grenache-syrah blend is certainly popular, and perennially prevailing, reaching our Wine Championship podium for the second year in a row. ‘Vibrant’ and ‘savoury with lovely black fruit’, it’s also offered at a pleasing price!