‘After some exciting changes, we’re setting off on a new adventure’, says the new Oddbins. If hitting the rails and imploding could be called exciting, the 36 branches that survived the debt-ridden crash engineered last year by ex-Oddbins boss, Simon Baile, must be breathing a sigh of relief simply to be alive. Today’s chain may look a little anorexic compared to the 150-odd high street branches of two years ago. Yet considering that we’d all said our fond farewells to the once popular high street institution, it’s nothing short of miraculous to see the phoenix rising once more from the ashes.

This month a new slimline Oddbins owned by Whittalls’ multimillionare founder Raj Chatha, showcased 100 new wines which are either on or about to hit the shelves of its stores. 19 are in London, 10 in Scotland and the remaining seven dotted around the country. A welcome note was to see continuity maintained with pre-phoenix buyer Emma Nichols in charge of the wine buying, along with a new member of the team, Ana Sapangiu. A quick glance at the wines on show revealed some of the old acumen and innovation, if not the prices, on which Oddbins first made its name.

Representation of Europe and the New World was roughly equal. Europe kicked off the reds with mixed results. I was seduced by the juicy cherry fruit and smooth tannins of the 2008 Castello di Farnetella Lucilla, £12, and the opulent and concentrated plum and raisin-rich fruit of the 2009 Baltasar Gracian Viejas Viñas, Calatayud, £13. I was less enamoured with one or two overoaked and baked wines, but I found the 2010 Perrin Syrah, £10, as elegantly peppery and fresh as I could wish for, the 2009 La Folle Noire d’Ambat, £9.50, a successfully quirky and suitably robust négrette from Toulouse.

By and large the New World trumped the Old. Smoky and spicy with dark berry fruit richness, the 2009 Chamonix Ripasso Pinotage, Franschhoek, £13, is an off-the-wall red that works. So too Chile’s juicy green pepper and blackcurrant-laden 2010 Perez Cruz Carmenère, £13. I generally preferred the New World whites too, a tantalizingly lemon and lime zesty 2009 Plantagenet Riesling, £13, from Western Australia, an intense and distinctively peach and greengage-fruity 2011 Scott Fiano, £15, among them.

Maybe I’m a cheap date but of the four sparkling wines, I preferred the cheapest and only non-champagne, the sumptuously ovaltiney / toasty Roederer Estate Quartet, £20, to the three champagnes. After tasting my way through the range, I came away feeling encouraged even if the majority of the wines were closer to crowd-pleasing than exciting. This is not a resurrection yet, but a sort of Oddbins-lite that’s making the right noises. The jury remains out on the phoenix question.

Something for The Weekend

Something For the Weekend 24 March

Couch Potato

2010 Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sur lie, Domaine Malinge

There’s an ocean-breezy freshness to this dry Loire Valley white with its lively appley bite and crisp tang thanks to its cool Atlantic location. £6.15, buy 6 = £4.61 from Wednesday (on all Morrisons’ wines).

Dinner Party

2008 Viña Mayu Reserva Syrah , Elqui Valley, Chile

Smoke, pepper and tar assail the nostrils with spicy pepper blackberry fruit in the mould of the northern Rhone's Crozes-Hermitage only a little more opulent, while ageing in oak casks adds a supple-textured dimension. £9.99, Sainsbury’s.

Splash Out

2009 Esprit de Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru, Burgundy

In the spirit of Chablis, this is taut classic northern white Burgundy with a deliciously intense mineral fruit quality and crisp racy acidity, perfectly combining ripe fruit with the salty mineral character of its location. £15.99. Waitrose.