We’ve all been there. You go into Aldi for toilet paper and a ball of mozzarella, and come out clutching a pretty decent bottle of crémant for a bargain.

In recent years, Aldi led the way in producing budget alternative of more expensive wines.

Then there were the off-the-beaten-track bottles and trophy-winning wines costing the right side of a fiver.

Aldi’s range could be sprawling, occasionally baffling and sometimes hit and miss. But that was the point.

Among the forgettable Pinot Grigios, there were (and still are) wines that made your brain glitch wondering how on earth they sold them for that price.

Was it the dark arts? Who the heck cared, if you could get a highly drinkable Bordeaux for £4.75.

So, I was surprised when I went along to Aldi’s latest tasting the other day and the range had noticeably shrunk down.

There were fewer oddities and curveballs, a diminished number of left-field discoveries, less of that delightful Aladin’s Cave quality about it.

Where was the Romanian red, English Pet Nat or the Australian wine that reminds me of the much-more-expensive bottle of Penfold’s?

But there’s no need to panic.

A more focused range isn’t a bad thing. Smaller can mean better edited, which I imagine is what they are going for.

And with everyone watching what they spend, 14 versions of similar bottles of Sauvignon Blanc may not be entirely necessary.

I blame the Chancellor, because wine duty has made it almost impossible to produce good wine at a cheap price point. What’s more, wine itself costs more to produce, bottles cost more to transport (that’s why many are bottling in the UK), and the aforementioned UK alcohol duty has changed the economics of what lands on our shelves.

But it does make the important question more pressing: which Aldi wines are worth buying now?

I tasted through the autumn/winter range to find out. Any while there may be fewer bottles to choose from, the good news is there are still some absolute crackers hiding amongst them.

Here are the diamonds (or at least diamantes) in the rough — and my top pick for the Aldi wine you simply have to sip this autumn.

The best Aldi wine for autumn

If you’re only going to buy one Aldi wine this season (although, goodness knows why you’d only pick one), it should be the Chassaux et Fils Côtes du Rhône.

At just £5.49, I wouldn’t usually recommend such a cheap Côtes du Rhône, but if someone can find better for the price, let me know.

There’s a decent level of intensity in this Grenache-dominated blend, a hit of hedgerow fruit and baking spice. It’s smooth, juicy and highly sessionable — a midweek gulper, if you will, so get gulping.

Not only has it won silver awards in the past, against wines two to three times the price, it’s constantly garnering expert accolades.

This is a wine for people who favour a less heavy style of red wine, while not compromising on the 13.5% alcohol content (which most fi not all other wines of this price would have done).

Loads of berry fruit, some cracked black pepper notes make it the best wine to have on hand for autumn and later into winter. 

It’s just such a good all around guzzler for a ridiculously good price. It’s really hard to find fault with it. 

The best of the rest

If I haven’t convinced you to opt for the Côtes du Rhône, there are other great options in Aldi’s slimmed down range this year — and you’ll get change from a tenner with all of them.

White

Estevez Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, £4.89

A silver award-winner at the prestigious IWSC awards. You are immediately greeted by a thwack of tinned peas on the nose, in a good way.

In the mouth, i’s a fresh and lively wine with herbaceousness and a zingy kick of kiwi on the finish.

Specially Selected South African Coastal Sauvignon Blanc, £5.99

Whack the word ‘coastal’ on a label and I’m sold.

It promises freshness, ripe fruit and even a mouthwatering lick of salt.

That’s precisely what you’re getting here; push stone fruit, a silken, almost buttery texture with great verve and freshness and a whiff of sea mist on the finish.

Specially Selected Vouvray, France, £7.69

Anyone who likes a super-ripe-tasting white, this is your bottle.

We’re talking golden apple and honeydew melon notes. It’s not sweet, exactly, but it’s certainly off-dry with rich and moreish notes that would smash a herby roast chicken pairing.

Specially Selected Picpoul de Pinet, France, £7.99

Picpoul isn’t cheap. In fact, most sell for around a tenner or more. It’s a wine that’s designed to be refreshing, tasting of lemons, limes with a light ‘prickle’ to it, which isn’t quite fizzy but not far off.

This has all of those things, along with a slight marine quality that makes me want to shuck and oyster immediately.

Specially Selected Riaxas Baixas Albariño, Spain, £8.99

This one will make you think of Faustino’s Albariño? Only, theirs sells for £16.50 a bottle.

Thank goodness Aldi has kept its playful side.

This is exactly what an Albariño should be, all preserved lemon, nectarine and white peach brought to you by the bucket-load.

Red

Specially Selected Salice Salentino, Italy, £6.99

Pronounced ‘sahl-ee-chay-sahl-ayn-tee-noh’, this is a very specific wine from Italy’s heel, namely Puglia.

It’s made entirely from a grape called Negroamaro, exclusively grown in that region, translated as ‘black bitter’.

The result here is a beautifully juicy wine with earthiness and a lot of blackberry character.

Specially Selected Chianti DOCG Superiore, Italy, £7.99

I’m a fan of Aldi’s Chianti Governo with the orange label. But, for a quid more, you get a pretty noticeable upgrade.

The ‘G’ in DOCG means that quality is guaranteed, with better grapes and swankier winemaking techniques.

This has intensity and a lovely savoury note of cured meat stuffed with fennel seeds.

Specially Selected Rioja Reserva, Spain, £7.99

Aldi stocks the full gamut of Rioja styles, from zero oaked Joven through to a Gran Reserva.

The Reserva is my sweet-spot, with great concentration of mulberries and damsons, not too much oak influence and a juicy, savoury finish.

Terre des Poètes Vaucluse IGP, £8.99

Another one from the Rhône Valley, this one is youthful, juicy and full of hedgerow fruits like loganberries and blackberries (I’d mention more hedgerow fruits if I know which they were).

There are also base notes of dark chocolate and mocha.

And the best bit? This bottle goes down to £4.99 at the end of October for a month. Just saying.

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