Wines of the week: October 26

This week: Systems of wine scoring

‘What would you give this wine out of 20?’ I said to my wife recently. ‘10,’ she said. ‘No, no,’ I said, ‘it has to be between 11 and 20’.

‘That doesn’t make any sense,’ she replied. That’s the problem with wine scoring, the numbers don’t mean much to non wine-bores. The two most-used systems are the 100-point scale from America where wines are marked between 50 and 100 (though rarely score less than 80) and the 20-point system used in Europe. In both cases, as in modern exams, you get points for just turning up and spelling your name right. I have my own system made up of ticks, crosses and occasionally a little cupid with a bow and arrow. All you need to know is, if I feature a wine on these pages, then I like it very much. Here are some high scorers:

Waitrose Mellow and Fruity Spanish Red 2011, £4.99: www.waitrose.com  Not sophisticated, even a little rough round the edges but delicious, dry and very comforting. A great, cheap autumn red.

Domaine des Trinités Roussanne 2010, £7.49: www.c2cwines.co.uk Full-bodied, clean and intense with flavours of almonds, pears and honey, everyone loves this Languedoc white.

Sillogi Moraitis 2011, £9.95: www.thewinesociety.com  At the moment I can’t get enough of Greek whites. They make a great alternative to the madly fashionable but often disappointing Albariño from Northern Spain. This one is very dry and citric with a slight fizz. It tastes so alive that it’s like getting a mild electric shock with every sip.

Qupé Sawyer Lindquist Grenache California 2008, £33: www.planetofthegrapes.co.uk Here the main grape from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is transformed into something so fragrant that you could mistake it for Pinot Noir. I gave it two large ticks and, after a couple of glasses, a gold star.