12 best chilled red wines for a fresh summertime tipple

A wine that does what it says on the label, which roughly translates as foraged wine that’s produced without added sulphites, although, as the image shows, it’s the local bees that are doing the foraging rather than humans. A superb example of Beaujolais Villages wine, it has those inherent and supple flavours of blackcurrant and redcurrant along with floral notes and hints of black pepper and spice. It’s one to partner with any red meat dish or a strong French cheese.

Now for something that’s really quite special. We’re talking top-class wine (with a price to match) from a 28-hectare vineyard in Bordeaux’s Saint-Emilion appellation. Deep red in colour, chilling it slightly brings out the hugely aromatic notes of soft, ripe fruit – think plums, blackberries and black cherries – along with hints of spice and even a whiff of fresh tobacco. Rich tannins and a long and satisfying finish also help to push this wine into the top tier. A once-in-a-lifetime wine, perhaps for a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

From Romania’s highly rated Cramele Recas winery, this is a perfect summer red that’s made from whole bunches of organically farmed merlot, which are left to ferment naturally before being bottled unfiltered without additional sulphites. What you get as a result are straight-from-the-vine flavours of ripe strawberries and juicy cherries. Slightly chilled, this is the perfect partner for a light al fresco lunch or simple afternoon tipple.

A young and easy-drinking red from the Domaine Pardon et Fils winery in Beaujeu, in the heart of the Beaujolais region, where they’ve been producing top-class wines for the past 100 years. There are lots of summer fruits here, with blackcurrant and redcurrant to the fore and a freshness and suppleness that a slight chilling will only amplify. Enjoy it with salads, charcuterie or tapas.

A pinot noir from Rouffach in the south of Alsace, where there’s a tradition of making red wine that stretches back to the 17th century. After years of moderate neglect, pinot noir has been making a comeback in the area in recent times. This splendid example is grown on soil rich in iron oxides, which adds an underlying and pleasing mineral quality to the wine. Add fruit forward notes of cherry and vanilla and a hint of chocolate on the tongue and you’ve got a summer winner. Enjoy a glass with red meats or game.

From a recently launched line of low-alcohol organic wines, here’s a light Italian red from the Veneto region, made with minimal intervention. The grapes (70 per cent corvina, 30 per cent merlot) are pressed as soon as they are harvested, the wine is fermented without any added yeasts and it is decanted and bottled without filtration. So, what you get is an immensely fresh and crisp red that delivers huge amounts of ripe cherry and blackcurrant flavours. It’s one that should add zing to any summer barbecue.

An Italian red that not only pays homage to the winery’s relationship with local grape-growers who would meet around the well (pozzo) on its property back in the 1900s, but also looks ahead with environmentally friendly biodynamic farming methods. As a ripasso, the wine is co-fermented with grape skins used in the production of amarone before dried grapes are added to it to give it extra body. So, expect a layered and complex flavour with cherry notes to the fore along with blackberry and prune. And look out for Gino the goose on the label.

This bottle is from a South African vineyard where the vines are protected from the ocean winds by a range of blue gum trees, hence its name. Hand harvested, the merlot grapes are fermented on their skins before being put into French oak barrels for 16 months. What you get as a result is an elegant and structured red wine that is smooth and supple on the palate with predominant notes of cherry, damson and raspberry, and relaxed tannins.

How about something homegrown to enjoy on a perfect English summer’s day? Pinot noir always takes well to a slight chilling and there are some that think, with its summer fruit bouquet and hints of citrus, it should always be served this way. Produced at Oastbrook, a sustainable vineyard in the Rother district of East Sussex, it’s also a winning example of how much English wine has progressed in recent years. Pair it with chicken, beef or a hard cheese to make it an afternoon or evening to remember.

A Greek red wine made from the xinomavro grape, common to Macedonia, and the basis of many of that area’s finest wines. It takes its name from the hedgehog nesting area in the Alpha Estate vineyard, where a single block of vines provides the grapes that make up this multi-layered wine, which is bursting full of red fruit and damson flavours tempered by hints of pepper and soft tannins. A slight chilling will make those fruit-forward flavours even more pronounced. A great wine to accompany any authentic Greek dish.

A big wine with big, bold flavours to match. From Australia’s Yarra Valley wine region, this aptly named pinot noir is made with minimal intervention, using hand-picked grapes, resulting in a layered and vibrant red wine full of red berry flavours with hints of clove and spice and lush tannins. It’s one to enjoy lightly chilled with a summer supper of chicken and couscous or any light Mediterranean dish.

“Our aim is to produce wine that will combine perfectly with food,” is the message from esteemed winemaker Michel Chapoutier, and he’s succeeded in spades with this medium-bodied blend of grenache and syrah. Scrumptious and fruity, it combines ripe cherry and bramble flavours with pleasing hints of spice and pepper. Cooled but not too chilled, it’s the perfect accompaniment for anything from spicy sausages to a juicy steak.