Wine Box: Carpet stainers

Many people choose red wines like take-home videos - forget the subtle, scenic, soft-focus Merchant Ivory classic, they want swashbuckling, mega-blockbusters more than anything. The equivalent wines are dense, concentrated and full-bodied reds so powerful that a few drops carelessly sploshed on a light carpet will stain for eternity - so drink with care.

I recently mentioned a few reds that are fun to drink in the colder months but there are some dense, sensuous bottles that only come into their own in winter. They are big wines for big food - rich, hugely fruity, sometimes spicy and full of oaky flavours. Why are they increasingly popular?

Most red lovers enjoy their upfront intensity and equate 'big' with 'value for money'. Huge, chewy mouthfuls of throbbing, headstrong flavours make us believe the winemaker has done the job properly - which, to get this style, he or she usually has. This selection is a fair cross-section of muscle-ripplers.

Sutter Home Signature Series Limited Release Zinfandel 1997 (itswine.com, Philglas & Swiggot, £10.49). One of my least-favourite American winemakers has come up trumps with this startlingly robust, juicy, tongue-tingler. Ripe, spiced berries mix with black peppercorns on the palate. Burstingly fruity, high in alcohol, unusual and delicious. California's perfect match for any big chunk of roast meat. Nicely out of character. Well done, chaps.

Xanadu Secession Shiraz Cabernet 2000 (Asda, £5.99). A really magnificent red for the money, this balanced, juicy Western Australian from the Margaret River overflows with the dark sweetness of blackberry and morello cherry, yet has a creamy, almost chocolaty, density on the palate. A clear reflection of well-nigh perfect growing conditions, I'd normally expect to pay around a tenner for this quality. It won an International Wine Challenge Gold Medal this year - so I'm not the only one who thinks it's good. Ideal for any roast - it was probably designed for an Outback meal of spit-roast Skippy.

Bodegas Weinert, Mendoza, Malbec 1995 (Laytons and Jeroboams, £11.95). Syrupy, almost waxy, fruit richness and concentration are unusual in most wines in this price bracket, yet the Argentinians have done it again with their ever-improving Malbec grape. This one is big, classy, smooth and elegant. Well worth the 12 quid for a super dinner party. You'll love it - promise.