(By Amy Wislocki – Decanter magazine, July 2026)
A Bunch of great-value summer wines
It’s a common assumption that supermarkets have a monopoly on wines priced at the lower end, for everyday drinking. The Bunch spring/summer press tasting (which UK politician Michael Gove wandered into), held at a private member’s club near Westminster, showed that the terms ‘value wine’ and ‘independent merchant’ aren’t mutually exclusive.
The bunch of leading UK indies (Corney & Barrow, Haynes Hanson & Clark, Lea & Sandeman, Private Cellar, Tanners and Yapp Brothers) traditionally come together every autumn to show a small selection from their current range. This was their first ever spring/summer tasting and it naturally majored on whites, rosés and lighter reds. Standout whites for value included Moulin de Gassac’s Languedoc Viognier 2025 and Cuisine en Famille’s Les Bras m’en Tombent Blanc 2025, from the Rhône, both from Yapp. Haynes Hanson & Clark showed an expressive and aromatic 2025 Provence rosé from Domaine Pique Roque; while on the lighter-red side, Tanners fielded Braida’s deliciously fresh, strawberry-sweet, lightly sparkling 2025 Brachetto d’Acqui and a crunchy, rose-scented 2023 Criolla from the El-Bayeh estate in Argentina’s Jujuy region, both ideal for balmy-evening sipping.