2005 Château Campillot, Médoc, France, Berry Bros & Rudd (01256-340182), £12.50. Bravo to Berry Bros for its classy collection of 2005 second wines from some well-known and not so well-known châteaux, such as this plump, complex, chocolate and herb-charged claret.

2005 Les Tourelles de Longueville, Pauillac, France, Berry Bros & Rudd, £27.95. One of my favourite second wines from leading second-growth Pauillac property Pichon-Longueville, that in the great 2005 vintage delivers distinguished and utterly seductive, fat, velvety, red fruit.

2007 Pinot Bianco delle Venezie, Italy, Sainsbury’s, £4.49. The first bottle in Sainsbury’s summer tasting, and a genuine joy to drink, with precisely the right quantities of fresh, crisp, grassy, green apple-charged fruit and a fine, juicy finish.

2007 Syrah-Viognier, Réserve Saint Marc, Vin de Pays de l’Hérault, France, Sainsbury’s, £4.99. This modish northern rhône blend impresses even when the grapes come from a lot further south in the Hérault area of the Midi – the end wine heaves with lively, ripe, spicy, dusky fruit.

Brut Champagne, P&C Heidsieck, Waitrose, down £4 to £11.99 until June 3. Too good a deal to miss, and if any of you are hosting a big bubbles event soon, this delicious, ripe, floral, nutty, biscuity champagne should be in everyone’s glass, either throughout or just for a toast.

2005 Château Maris, Les Vieilles Vignes, Minervois La Livinière, France, Waitrose, down £2 to £6.99 until June 3. No shrinking violet at 14.5 per cent alcohol, with lots of ripe, herby fruit, but we all need barbecue-suitable reds like this superior single village minervois in the rack over the summer.

Times Recommends

• How to season a wok
• Chicago Rib Shack hits back at its critics
• Gordon Ramsay: Indian barbecue