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.
Telavi wine cellar, Satrapezo, 10 Qvevri, 2020, Georgia
Lidl, Carinena, Monte Plogar, Gran Reserva, 2016, Valencia, Spain
It’s been a whole since I tried a good cheap red from a supermarket, but this one from Lidl is worth buying. At £6 a bottle, it was a pleasant surprise. Dry with soft tannins and decent flavours of plum, blackberry, cherry with hints of chocolate and a little oak in the background. It’s been left longer than the producer would have recommended before drinking but I think that’s helped soften it up. We had ot with a slow cooked beef joint and it was a perfect fit.
Berton vineyard, Chardonnay, 2022, Eden Valley, Australia
Another typical cheap Australian Chardonnay? Not quite. This one from Berton vineyard is ok, not outstanding but decent if you like a slightly heavier white wine. Lots of ripe citrus, pineapple and hints of grapefruit. As such it holds its length well, although thats more by brute force of flavour.
Personally, at £15 a bottle it’s over priced. For me it’s like Ford Fiesta car, nothing wrong in many ways but I’m not paying VW golf prices for it.
Aldi, Grapevine, Shiraz, Australia
Aldi do sell some excellent wine but this isn’t one of them. Sure at £4 is cheap but not much flavour or aroma, some length, mild tannins which isn’t necessarily bad. Another late at the party opening wine.