Some absolutely belting finds at belt-tightening prices

When I first took an interest in wine in the late 1990s, I had just finished university and consequently my budget was minuscule. Even so, I hoped that, by the age I am now (late 40s), I’d be drinking Château Latour at least a couple of times a year. Sadly, my pay never kept pace with the increasing cost of the best wines.

Actually, it’s much worse than that: many wines I used to enjoy regularly in my 20s are now prohibitively expensive and, with two young children in tow, I can’t really justify spending more than £20 on a bottle unless it’s for a very special occasion. But this isn’t a woe-is-me column (or not just a woe-is-me column), because my lack of funds combined with my keen interest in wine means that I have become rather good at finding bottles that offer a taste of first class at Ryanair prices. These might be from up-and-coming regions that haven’t yet been discovered, or cheaper wines from well-known producers, or that, for some baffling reason, just aren’t very expensive.