Midweek tipple: a bargain white and a ripe, rounded red

Le Bel Ange 2013 IGP Pays d’Oc, Domaine Begude

This was one of my standout white wines at the recent O’Brien’s wine fair. It has been reduced to €12.95 for the month of May, so get in quick.

It is a real bargain at this price. Fresh, crisp dry and unoaked with peaches and green apple fruit, this would go down a treat with a bowl of mussels or fish and chips.

Mariana 2015, Alentejo, Portugal

The Alentejo is the large central part of Portugal where they produce much of the cork used to seal our wine. The region is also responsible for some of the best value wines in Europe at the moment, including this wine.

Made from a bunch of local grape varieties, this is a lovely big, ripe, rounded wine, full of supple dark plums and cassis.

Perfect with barbecued meat, and great value at €14.95 from La Touche, Fresh Outlets, Corkscrew, D Six, Nectar, McGuinness Wines, Dundalk, Fallon & Byrne, Donnybrook Fair, Sweeney’s, Deveney’s, Red Island, Green Man Wines.