Top dozen wines in Waitrose you have to buy in 2026

As I ramp up my study towards applying to the Master of Wine course, I’ve been tasting an extraordinary number of wines in 2025. This has put me in a unique position when looking for the best wines. One of the most reliable retailers to browse around for good wine is Waitrose Cellar, the online wine specialist spin-off from the premium supermarket, and many of these bottles can be found in store, too.

I regularly mix in the wines I buy from independent merchants with supermarket wines. After all, supermarkets should reflect the sorts of wines most of us are drinking. Knowing what’s hot and what’s not is a key part of the business element of the Master of Wine, let alone important for my day job as a buyer, consultant, and commercial director.

While I’ve had some stunning value wines from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi in 2025, no supermarket has regularly impressed me as much as Waitrose. While it’s locking horns with M&S right now for food customers, on a wine versus wine level, Waitrose is still coming out on top.

So let’s not muck around. Let me introduce you to my top 12 wines from Waitrose you should buy. I’ve included brilliant red wines, top tier white wines, some genuinely outstanding fizz, and a dessert wine option. Let’s go!

Great white wines you shouldn’t miss out on

• 2022 Bernard Fouquet Cuvée de Silex Vouvray – £13.00
• 2023 Rupert & Rothschild Baroness Nadine Chardonnay – £28.50
• 2023 Saint Clair Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc – £16.25

In previous years I’ve flip-flopped between my white wine and red wine seasons; months on end I would be enthusiastic about one style over the other. However, this year I’ve thoroughly enjoyed jumping between both, and it has shown in my list of favourites. While my red wine taste has started to lean into fruit-forward, terroir-driven wines and away from big oaky styles, my white wine taste has fallen for broader, richer, more characterful wines. I don’t necessarily mean I’m just swigging buttery Chardonnay, I am still a glutton for acidity, but I want that acid to be paired with flavour and a mouth-filling texture.

As with all my wines, these have been rated on my three star system. Simply, that’s ★ Good meaning a quality wine worth its price, ★★ Great for a wine you should seek out, and ★★★ Outstanding for those truly memorable wines. Think of the Michelin star system or Hugh Johnson’s pocket guide. I just can’t get behind the idea that there’s anything different between a ’87’ or ’88’ point wine, so I’ve never bothered with the 100pt system.

Bearing in mind this is a top wines round-up, you’re only getting my ★★ Great+ and up!

The first bottle of white that’s a winner for your 2026 list is 2022 Cuvée de Silex Vouvray from Bernard Fouquet (£13.00, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great). I’ve been tasting so much good Chenin Blanc this year and it was a close tie between this and the 2022 Vouvray Spring Sec from Domaine Careme (£16.50, Waitrose Cellar) that made my list last year. However, the bottle from Bernard Fouquet is a fraction more elegant, better value and a gorgeous partner with the Indo-Chinese dish chilli paneer, a dinner staple of ours at home. Waitrose does these Loire Valley Chenin Blancs better than the other supermarkets, but if you’re shopping elsewhere keep a keen eye out for the Chenin Blancs coming out of South Africa, as these are often great value for money.

Talking of South Africa, the 2023 Baroness Nadine Chardonnay from Rupert & Rothschild (£28.50, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great) is superb. Nothing like the Chardonnays that kicked off the ‘Anything but Chardonnay ABC’ crowd, this is fruit forward with vibrant acidity. Exotic fruits and sherbet-like lemon sit over a creamy, toasty palate that never feels cloying or fat. Lightly chill the wine and let it warm up at the table. It’s the kind of bottle where you want to share it with friends, but when it’s all gone you long for a little bit more…

My third white wine pick this year came as a bit of a surprise. I am not a Sauvignon Blanc drinker. However, I appreciate it’s the UK’s most popular white wine at home (Pinot Grigio still rules when you’re out and about), so I decided to buy 24 different Sauvignon Blancs and see if one or two bottles would change my mind. To my surprise, the 2023 Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc from Saint Clair (£16.25, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great) was a turning point. This has that pungeant, aromatic Sauvignon Blanc nose you’d expect but it’s balanced in its flavour. Green passionfruit dominates, backed by a saline, mouth-watering palate. It is an impressive white wine and if you’re going to drink Sauvignon Blanc, make sure it’s a good one like this.

Red wines that show something exceptional at Waitrose

• 2024 Réserve des Hospitaliers – £13.50
• 2021 Prunotto Barolo – £50.00
• 2024 Les Nivières Saumur Cabernet Franc – £11.00

Last year, I recommended the excellent Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend from Reyneke (£11.00, Waitrose Cellar) as one of my top picks. It’s still a fabulous wine, and you should ignore the online reviews. If you know, you know. While the Reyneke has jumped a pound a bottle over the past year, there’s more bargains I’ve enjoyed from Waitrose’s red wines that show you don’t need lots of cash to drink something special.

The stand out red wine for around a tenner was from the Côtes du Rhône: 2024 Réserve des Hospitaliers, a co-operative winery label from the Cairanne hills (£13.50, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great Wine), which does everything a fine Chateauneuf du Pape manages at a fraction of the cost. If you want full bodied, moreish Grenache-Syrah then this should be at the top of your list. The oak ageing is managed lightly to stop it being stuffy and the balance of sweetly-fruited Grenache with a touch of peppery Syrah is expertly handled. If you’re reading this in the cooler, wetter months, what are you waiting for?

For the hundreth time I’ll remind you that the Villa Antinori Toscana Red is always great value, especially if you catch it on offer (it’s normally £20, but it was down to £13 over Christmas), but I’m not going to include it in my top 3 this year. However, I couldn’t round up my favourites without something Italian so joining the Réserve des Hospitaliers red is, in my opinion, Waitrose’s best Barolo label: 2021 Prunotto Barolo (£50.00, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great Wine). If you know your wines, you know this wine also hails from the Antinori family; there is a reason why they’re so successful. This is a Barolo made from a mixture of parcels and yes, it’s pricier than your average red wine, but it’s great value for money if you’re going to drink your Barolo younger than you should (most Barolo needs time, and outstanding Barolo you should buy from a specialist merchant). Prunotto’s Barolo has all the aromatic delights you want from the grape Nebbiolo, florals and cherries, and pairs it with a palate that’s polished and smooth with a pleasant, spicy heat.

Want something lighter and incredible value for money? Well, I am a Cabernet Franc lover. This crunchy, very autumnal red grape variety can have masses of character and complexity in the right hands and is often cheaper than wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon. However, in the wrong hands it can be tart, green and mealy. The 2024 Saumur, Les Nivières (£11.00, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great Wine) is one of the good ones, especially for its price! Bright, peppery and interesting, this is a fresh and fruit-forward Cabernet Franc with tons of purity. I had intended to enjoy it casually but found it genuinely inviting and a joy to settle into.

My favourite Waitrose fizz

• 2022 Camel Valley Pinot Noir Rosé Brut – £38.00
• 2016 Louis Roederer Brut Vintage 2016 – £70.00
• NV Roederer Estate Quartet – £33.00

If I’ve tasted and enjoyed more in a single style of wine this year it has been in bubbles. I didn’t realise in previous years how much I had been underappreciating this category, especially when I live in the UK, which is one of the world’s best markets for fizz. We are spoilt for choice and the options beyond Champagne, especially in our home-grown sparkling wines, is better than ever.

I’ve got three top picks on what fizz to buy in Waitrose this year. Let’s kick off with something English: Pinot Noir Rosé Brut from Camel Valley (£38.00, Waitrose Cellar, ★★★ Outstanding Wine). I still think Camel Valley’s Brut is one of the best value sparkling wines you can buy in the UK; it is consistently great. I hadn’t tried the Pinot Noir Rosé Brut for a little while, but I had the 2022 vintage (the last good English wine vintage, although 2025 looks promising) and it was genuinely fab. Camel Valley’s wines are very dry, tight and fruit-driven, right up my street. This should be on all your birthday lists.

Naturally my favourite Champagne house will make this list. I’ve really enjoyed their wines this year, so let’s all raise a glass to the 2016 Brut Vintage from Louis Roederer (£70.00, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great). £70 for a bottle of fizz? I know, it’s dear. Champagne labels can sometimes feel like you’ve got to walk on broken glass to put a label on the table, but I’ve always felt it to be different with a good Roederer (outside of Cristal). These wines are consistently delicious and if you want that bold, fulfilling, toasty Champagne flavour then this is worth every penny.

Continuing the Roederer theme, although at a more everyday Champers price point is their US spin-off. The NV Estate Quartet sparkling from Roederer’s Californian label (£33.00, Waitrose Cellar, ★★ Great) manages to consistently punch above its weight. This is generous and ripe, perfect for food pairing rather than just drinking out of flutes. Give it the space of a proper wine glass and pair it with a long lunch. Honestly, it’s the perfect way to elevate a meal and sparkling wine pairs so well thanks to its acidity. 

The 3 star stunners: Waitrose’s best wines

• 2023 Schug Carneros Pinot Noir – £30.00
• 2021 Feiler-Artinger On The QT Bin 33 – £26.50
• 2021 Rabl Schenkenbichl Kamptal Reserve Riesling – £22.50

Alright, if you’ve been reading this far and you keep seeing those 2★★ stars pop up wondering where the outstanding 3★★★ star bottles might be, welcome to the best part of the list. I made a commitment some years ago to only write about the wines I liked. Why waste energy on bad wine? Life’s too short. Nowadays winemaking is so accomplished that a lot of wines I drink deserve a star and many of them achieve two. Three, though? That’s going to have to be really special. 

Normally three star wines surprise me, and they can come from any price level. Ken Forrester The Misfits Cinsault (£10.00, Tesco) is still one of the best red wines I’ve had and I gave the 2021 vintage three stars; similarly the Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Marzemino Trentino (c. £7.00 on offer back in the day, and usually about a tenner) was also a three star, although you can’t buy it anymore. More often than not, truly special wines are pricey and generally found in specialist wine merchants, where passionate buyers have put something extraordinary onto the shelves. Nevertheless, great supermarket retailers like Waitrose also manage to hit the gold standard.

The three wines that got the rare ★★★ Outstanding grade from Waitrose this year were:

2018 Louis Guntrum Pinot Noir Reserve (£43.00, Waitrose Cellar) was (and still is) one of the best Pinot Noirs I’ve had from Waitrose but in 2026 I’ve gone to the new world for my favourite Pinot Noir bottle. 2023 Carneros Pinot Noir from Schug (£30.00, Waitrose Cellar, ★★★ Outstanding) brought back memories of the Calera winery we used to work with at Novel Wines. Its bold, Californian-ripe red fruits are just nudging on dried fruit intensity and the wine’s balanced by a soft, careful use of oak, giving you a mix of fresh vanilla pod, strawberries, cherries and wood spice. This is big for Pinot, clocking in at 14% abv, but quite ethereal for California. You may need to go online if you can’t find it in store.

Sweet wine lovers, look no further than the 2021 On The QT Bin 33 by Feiler-Artinger (£26.50, Waitrose Cellar, ★★★ Outstanding). Incredible value for money and my star buy for Christmas, this limey, partly botrytised and honeyed delight is sticky but moreish. A true slice of heaven is to enjoy a cold glass of this with a wedge of blue cheese and some quince jelly. My mouth is already watering.

Just as dessert wines are often unsung heroes, Riesling is a grape variety we totally under appreciate in the UK. There are some great Riesling wines available from Waitrose and a larger variety than most supermarkets, but my revelation this year was in the quality of Weingut Rabl’s 2021 Schenkenbichl Riesling Reserve (£22.50, Waitrose Cellar, ★★★ Outstanding) from the banks of the Kamptal river in Langenlois, Austria. I first tried Rabl’s wines nearly ten years ago and it was one of the first wineries we added to the Novel Wines list, and a real favourite of ours from the importer Hallgarten Druitt & Novum. Kamptal DAC is the largest producing wine region near Langenlois in Lower Austria and produces wines that graduate from zippy and steely into more rich, stone fruit character. The Reserve style is made up of low yielding vine fruit, packed with concentration, that is then aged with minimal oak influence to produce a rounded, full style. It has exactly what my palate has matured to: plenty of acidity and bite, but combined with layers of complexity and character. A proper stand out on the Waitrose list.

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So, there we go: a dozen wines you should taste through in 2026 from the supermarket Waitrose. Here’s to another year of delicious wines, wherever you shop. Cheers.