Decanter April 20

The April 2020 Decanter is out.

You know us. We do the whole Decanter thing, and it's all part of the marketing to get excited about the top wines in each edition. 

But we've genuinely not been this excited before, despite such smash Decanter hits over the last year or so as the Cerro Añon Rioja, the Pierre Bertrand Champagne and the Talinay Pinot Noir.

The banner below largely shows why. Stick with us: we'll explain more fully in just a second.

The wines featured this month in Decanter - and that we list - appear at the foot of this page. The reviews for each wine  (where we've been able to show them) appear on each product page.

• For our full compendium of over 400 Decanter-rated wines from the last three years, please click here....

• For the wines in the previous month's edition (March 2020 - all very Rioja), please click here...   

• Click here for the full archive of all of our monthly Decanter blogs/articles...

• And for the Decanter-rated wines that really made an impact - our Headliners - and articles about them, click here.

The excitement stems from a) the magazine's main cover article and b) its lead panel review.

• The lead panel review is of the Languedoc appellation of Corbieres, and (obviously) its reds. There are some wonderful wines here, full of life and flavour, well made and packing no little interest - at some amazing prices for the money involved.

In what is a very exciting Exel coup, we lay exclusive claim to all three of the Outstanding (95 pts +) wines, two at £12 and the other at £15. Don't miss these. Rather than clutter up this page, we've created a detailed page on the appellation, the review and those top wines (click the link or the banner below). Apols for all the detail, but we'd rather you made informed choices.

• The lead article is an expert review of Global Bordeaux blends; to be clear, that's wines from everywhere except Bordeaux made with the classic Bordeaux red grape varieties (principally Merlot and the two Cabernets). Here, some glorious New World and Old World specimens emerge. Although this this is a pricey category in the main (to find quality) - £40+ - we're proud to be offering the 95 and 94-pointers that come in more inexpensively - the best two at £21 and ~£13. Again, these provide unmissable value. Don't miss them; quantities available are not extensive. Again, all the details of the review and top wines can be found in on a separate page here (also click banner below).

• (There's also a panel review of 2006 Barolo, we might add. It's doubtless amazing stuff, but you're only likely to be an owner of those wines if you're already an owner of those wines. And you're probably feeling quite smug/contented if so; well done to you. Once again, the stockists listed in the article invariably no longer have/hold the '06 vintage, just the most recent ones of some considerable years later).

Honestly, that's quite enough to fill anyone's e-basket (I). However, beyond these, there are plenty of featured wines (and we're only including here those that do particularly well). NB: Whilst most are, a couple are not the featured vintage - do check the review on the product against the vintage we offer where this is crucial to you!

• Top South American Chardonnay under £20 is a fine feature by Pete Richards MW - we've three excellent (and quite different) contenders from Chile's Errazuriz, a wine for "Chardonnay hedonists" (say Decanter) from Undurraga and a quite stunning Chard from Argentina's Finca Flichman. <I was lucky enough to try this at a tasting this week and it's awesome - think: Catena White Bones/Stones, but at a third of the price. Superb!>.

• A subtle red Ladoix (Burgundy) from Domaine Chevalier (a previous Decanter high-scorer in other vintages) features in Stephen Spurrier's musings - and at 'just' £31 (rare for him)

In the South America supplement, look out for:

• a raft of great Argentinian favourites from Andeluna (a rose!), Trapiche and Finca Sophenia;

• great Uruguayan reds (albeit at different price points) from Bodegas Brisas and Garzon (their flagship, the Balasto); and

• Clos des Fous (95 points) for their ~£30 Aconcagua Pinot Noir and the Talinay - for it is (s)he - in a feature on extreme wine production in Chile.