Quinta Do Couquinho, Reserva, 2020, Douro, Portugal
Another Douro red wine? Yep but that’s hardly a bad thing. Dry, medium bodied with plenty of red fruit flavours, grippy tannins that integrated well. It’s a good red wine.
Famille Arnaud, Quart du Roi, 2021, Rhone, France
Made in the Rhone style, this Dry red wine from Famille Arnaud is a good quality red made to be just drunk. Sarah, Grenache and bit of Mourvedre and Counoise make up a classic blend with good length, grippy tannins and decent black and red fruit flavours. Its got a bronze at the Decanter World Wine awards 2024 which is a fair mark. Drink with a lump of red meat or tomato pasta.
Quinta Vale D Maria really knows how to make good red wine. This is pretty good although at £45 a bottle it should be. This is an issue as many people won’t try what is an excellent dry red wine. Red and black fruit are here in bucket loads, hints of strawberry and spice poke through with an under note of Vanilla. Its all very well integrated and make as a wonderful package.
I did like this dry, smooth red italian wine. 90% Sangiovese with a bit of Merlot and Canaiolo. Its a juicy wine with plenty of black cherry that has long length and while not as complex as many Chianti Classico’s its very easy drinking and at £16 a bottle its very good value and one to try.
Fritz, 1635 Cuvee, 2019, Hungary
This Bordeaux blend of Cab Sav, Cab Franc and Merlot is half decent. Dry, bold with robust tannins there are flavours of dark red and black fruits, tobacco, chocolate and oak that are all easily picked upon. The subtle flavours are missing, its a big red and one for food to accompany it.
Attila Pince, Birtokbor, 2015, Eger, Hungary
Hungarian red wine can be very good and pretty cheap and this red from Attila Pince is good. A blend of Syrah, Cab France, Merlot and Pinot Noir its dry, pretty bold with good red fruit flavours. Its a bit bland and is just better with red meat or tomato based pasta than on its own. A party wine.
Gérald Besse, Les Serpentines, 2021, Syrah, Martigny, Switzerland
The swiss can make some really good wine and this dry red syrah from Gérald Besse from the Martigny area of Switzerland shows it. Good length and full of red fruit flavours. With a little bit of smoke, leather and slight earthy note just poking through it’s very enjoyable red to watch a sunset with.
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Aldi sells some great wines and although it’s not great when you consider the price of £4 a bottle it’s hard not to be impressed. It’s a cheap red wine for sure, dry, unbalanced on the tannins and flavours. There are positives. Reasonable red fruit and tannins don’t overwelm. It’s better to chill this a little and drink it in the garden on a summer’s day.
Lyrarakis located in Crete, Greece is an interesting example of a red wine from Greece. It’s dry and reasonably light with small amounts of tanning. Its ok as a wine to go with food but just lacks character on its own. At £20 a bottle it’s way over priced.
Ermacora, Schioppettino, 2020, Italy
You can’t really go wrong with Italian red wine and this one from Ermacora in Northern Italy almost proves it. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, its just a dry red wine. Red fruit and pretty light is the best any of us that tried it could say. When tasted one evening with 2 other reds, it was left limping into 3rd.