CO OP, Les Pionniers, rosé Champagne is rather good, it’s very drinkable. Dry with plenty of fruit it’s not a bready Champagne but more cremant style. Raspberry and hints of strawberries and redcurrant it’s one to sip in the garden on a summer’s evening. We’ll done CO OP.
Dagernova
Dernauer Schieferlay Spätburgunder
Most of the German Pinot Noirs you get in the UK are pretty good. This one from Dagernova is excellent. Light, dry with soft tannins and well integrated fruit flavours of cherry and red current. This a little oak and hints of earthiness poking though. Delightfully subtle and easy drinking it’s hard not to drink the bottle in one go.
Camel Valley, Bacchus, 2013, Cornwall, England
Camel Valley know how to make great wine but this Bacchus from 2013 is something else. Drink Bacchus young has been the saying but at 11 years old thus is still great. Dry, balanced acidity with crisp citrus and a slight hint of grapefruit is a wine to enjoy watching a sunset. At about £15 a bottle for current vintages it’s one to just buy.
Averys, Fine White Burgundy, 2019, France
Averys is a well known and respected wine supplier and I was so looking forward to their own label Fine White Burgundy. The smell was wonderful, creamy lees with citrus hits the nose. The wine is dry, soft and unfortunately lacking is any real taste. It just tastes flat and pretty non descript. This is a wine you expect at £4 not at over £20.
You can get excellent Greek wine, its out there but this orange wine is not one of these. Its not terrible, but its quite bland with very little flavour and a little acidic. Not much else I can say.
Alain Grignon, Carignan, ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2022, Pays de l’Hérault, France
Carignan is not a typical supermarket wine so it’s not appreciated enough as it can make some rather excellent and cheap 😀 wine which this one from Majestic shows. Dry with plenty of blackcurrant and cherry flavours with a hint of spice and oak. It has soft tannins and decent lengh and at £8 it’s a decent mid week drinker.
Brancott Estate, Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, 2022, Marlborough, New Zealand
Another excellent wine from Tesco. At £12 a bottle it’s keenly price for the quality. Made from Sabro and Sauvignon Blanc grapes it’s dry, crisp, clean, refreshing with good length of flavours, citrus and hints of lime all in the right proportions.
Tesco, Finest Pinot Noir, 2022, Central Otago, New Zealand
I think Tesco struck gold with their Finest Pinot Noir from Central Otago, New Zealand. This is a real treat. Dry and light it has plenty of subtle red fruit that dances on the palette. It’s got grace and style and although Decanter only gave it 91 points it’s a gold from me.
At £14 a bottle for such quality it’s great value. It stood up to steak very well but was excellent too on its own.
Aldi, Specially Selected, Pinot Grigio, Italy
Aldi have done it again with a cheap, £4 a bottle white wine that is perfect for just drinking. It’s dry, fresh with light flavours of citrus. A relatively simple wine, it’s no Gold medal winner but its perfect for parties and summer evenings sitting in the garden. Worth a case in anyone’s cupboard or under the stairs.
Chateau de la Greffiere, Chardonnay, 2022, Macon la Roche, France
The french generally produce great Chardonnay and this is a perfect example. Its dry, clean, fresh with subtle flavours of citrus and peach with a creamy undernote which makes it a delight to drink. At £16 a bottle it’s decent value too.