14%, Tesco, £9, down to £8 until 1 January; 25% off six mixed bottles or more until 18 December, both offers for Clubcard holders

Bargain alert! A ripe but rounded shiraz, big on cassis and blueberries with spicy hints, for an enticing £6 if you combine the two offers (and you’ll need to be a Clubcard holder). It’s strong but well-balanced and must be the best-value Aussie red on the shelves right now.

Best with: roast turkey or goose and all the trimmings.

13%, Sainsbury’s, £8, down to £6 until 13 December

Deep garnet coloured, and rich in blackcurrant and blackberry with a peppery twist in the tail, this is actually a blend of 85 per cent malbec with 15 per cent of the somewhat softer grape bonarda. It’s a very decent malbec for the full price, and especially tempting on special offer, though note that it finishes on Tuesday so don’t delay.

Best with: rib of beef.

13.5%, Marks & Spencer, £7.50, down to £6.50 until 2 January

A good, honest red if ever there was one, hailing from hot Yecla in Murcia, eastern Spain. The old monastrell bush vines that produced the fruit are grown at 750 metres (2,460ft) above sea level, which helps the grapes retain their freshness. There’s a full fruity scent and buckets of ripe plums in the flavour.

Best with: roast pork and baked ham.

14%, Waitrose, £14.99, down to £10 until 1 January

For a little more outlay, a shiraz with proper complexity, plenty of tannin and integrated oak. With delicious notes of black fruit pastilles and a hint of mint, it’s made in the renowned red wine region of McLaren Vale and aged in French oak for 18 months. A serious wine for a tenner; decant to serve to soften it down and bring out the aroma.

Best with: roast lamb, roast beef, full-flavoured hard cheeses.

14%, Co-op, £8, down to £7.50 until 3 January

Pinots grown in the relatively cool coastal region of Casablanca in Chile often have a lively and juicy character combined with smooth texture, and so it is with this youthful example. Plenty of Victoria plums and red cherries mark it out, and it isn’t tannic.

Best with: roast chicken, nut roasts, Diana Henry’s cheese and onion potato pie, fresh salmon.

If you're looking to buy a cocktail or other alcohol inspired gift for someone this Christmas, look no further than our best alcohol Christmas gift guide.

Read last week's column: The best pre-made bottled cocktails for Christmas parties