Vinya Carles Priorat Crianza 2007

With the holiday season upon us LIDL tends to come up with the odd special, whether it's frozen moose meat, entire geese, 3-bird roasts or windshield-wiper fluid, it's usually good value. The wine is no exception.

Priorat has a reputation for upmarket, complex wines. I've never seen one less than £12, which in itself is arguably good value for a quality wine. To see one for £5.99 is intriguing to say the least.

The wine itself is not bad at all. Not a world-beater, but pretty good. Depth, complexity, and fruit were all there. The funny thing with these LIDL wines is you're expecting them to be terrible, and they're not. Some of them actually do reflect their price tag, but this certainly doesn't. My local LIDL has sold out of this already, but if yours hasn't I suggest you snap some up.

Vinya Carles

Priorat Crianza 2007

Catalonia, Spain

LIDL

£5.99

3/5

Les Celliers de Saint-Jean Beaujolais Primeur 2011

I've been meaning to try Beaujolais Nouveau for awhile now, but I've never made it a priority. Beaujolais isn't my favourite wine, as the concept of light, fresh, gluggy wine for me is satisfied by whites and rose wines. I'm also not a fan of young reds. However, since LIDL is my main supermarket these days and they had a big display of this wine it was time to give it a try.

Huge Ribena, raspberry nose, and no length whatsoever to speak of. Initially this was going to be resigned to the rubbish bin. However after a few sips it grew on me. Its essence of fruity freshness and drinkability was outstanding, and this is the whole point of this wine. I get it now.

By the end of the bottle we were wishing we had more, and I regretted not going for the 2 for £9 deal.

Les Celliers de Saint-Jean

Beaujolais Primeur 2011

Burgundy, France

LIDL

£4.99 (2 for £9)

3/5

Fetzer Shiraz 2009

Ages ago I heard somewhere that this wine was good. I can't remember where, and I have been meaning to try it ever since. It's not a 'great' wine, but a potential bargain.

I find it very difficult to enjoy red wine in this hot weather (it's 25C in my house at the moment), so it's not in optimal conditions that I try this. But try it I did.

It's OK. Very strong nose of red berries, plus hot alcohol (although that might have something to so with the heat). Interesting chocolate notes too. All in all not bad for the money.

For those that are interested, Fetzer is an organic winery (the largest in California), they power their operation with 100% green energy and they employ a number of other 'green' practices.

Fetzer

Shiraz 2009

California, USA

£5.69 (with 25% off)

Waitrose Wine Direct

2.5/5

Castelvero Barbera d'Asti 2007

This innocuous looking bottle is quite frankly the best wine bargain that I've experienced at Sainsbury's for ages.

Lovely cherry fruit, a bit of that Italian leather character, some grippy tannin, it's all here. For £4.65.

Buy some. Buy loads. You won't get a better deal anywhere. Ever.

Castelvero

Barbera d'Asti 2007

Piedmont, Italy

Sainsbury's

£4.65 (£6.99)

3/5

Fleur du Cap Merlot 2008

Bought this on a whim. I've had Fleur du Cap wine before and thought it was good so this seemed a safe choice.

I do like it. It's rich, fruity, and well-structured. The bottle has been open for a while now, and it shows no signs of slowing down. It's matured in small oak casks, which surely imparts some of the structure. It also has a pronounced green pepper/sour/zinginess to it which is uniquely South African. Not quite the South Africa rubbery character, but something else. Some might find this a bit full on, but I like it. I would definitely buy this again.

I think the offer may be finished today which is unfortunate or else I would have run out and bought loads of this. It's a bargain. Oddly, the bottle I had was 2008 (which I bought yesterday), and on the Waitrose website they are currently advertising the 2010. Did they skip a vintage?

Fleur du Cap

Merlot 2008

W.O. Coastal Region, South Africa

Waitrose

£5.99 (£7.49)

3.5/5

Antonin Rodet Givry 2008

While at my local Majestic recently I sampled a bunch of wines they had opened for tasting. The one that stood out the most was this red Burgundy from the Givry appellation in Burgundy's Cotes Chalonnaise. I was enticed by its pronounced sour cherry flavours and decided to buy a couple of bottles.

Drinking it now, it's a bit more complex than just sour cherries. The cherries have moved into the background, and it's displaying some mushroomy character. It's also very tangy and has an elegant grip from the tannins. I like it - it's a Burgundy and doesn't at all resemble some of this new world dreck that passes for Pinot Noir these days.

Antonin Rodet

Givry 2008

Givry AOC, Burgundy, France

Majestic

£11.99 (when you buy 2 bottles)

3/5

Mayu Selected Vineyards Syrah 2008

I was pleased to see this on offer from Waitrose. I am a big fan of Chilean Syrah, and quite frankly we don't see enough of it in the shops.

Mayu's Reserva bottling is frequently bandied about as a 5 star wine, and it's dirt cheap as well (I think it's around £12 if you can find it). It looks like I didn't give it a particularly great review (3/5) but I remember it being good at least. Some of the more recent Syrah I've had from Chile has made more of an impression though.

Either way this was worth trying and I did like it. Chilean Syrah has it's own character. Yes it has the pepper and spice and all that, but it also has a sharp, almost sour (in a good, savoury way) character to it that I always recognize, and it immediately makes my mouth water. It can be a bit rich - it's good for slow sipping. It has some chocolate notes as well which makes chocolate the first food match to come to mind when trying to pair a particularly rich example.

As far as this example goes, I think it's a good wine at a good price and would recommend stocking up before Feb. 15th when the offer ends.

Mayu

Selected Vineyards Syrah 2008

Elqui Valley, Chile

Waitrose

£6.99 (£9.49)

3/5

Campo Al Moro Chianti Classico 2009

Chianti Classico for less than £7? Worth a try. It's OK, but kind of falls short of what I'd expect from a Classico. Slightly plummy and baked I felt, and lacking the bright, juicy acidity that you'd get with the similarly priced Piccini offerings. Not bad for the price but if you think you're getting something fancy, think again.

Campo Al Moro

Chianti Classico 2009

DOCG Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy

Sainsbury's

£6.65 (£9.99)

2.5/5

Terres de Galets Cotes du Rhone 2009

It's been far too long since I've posted here - about a month and a half. My apologies. I bought a case of wine from Majestic for Christmas, as did my brother-in-law, whose family was spending the holidays with us. All in all none of the wine impressed. I was so disappointed in their ordinariness that I couldn't even bother to post about them.

We're also trying to save money. We've just bought a new house that needs renovating, so every pound saved is valuable. My wine consumption has plummeted, and most of the wines we do drink are favourites that I've blogged about before.

However, it's time to get back in the saddle. I picked up this Cotes du Rhone from Sainsbury's because it was cheap, and had a sticker from the International Wine Challenge on it. The sticker was gold coloured but it didn't say "Gold" on it. I was pretty sure it was meaningless but I bought the wine anyway because I think the 2009 Rhone vintage was supposed to be pretty good.

The wine isn't bad really - you could do much worse for the price. It had obvious spicy Rhone character and quite an impressive nose. Palate-wise it decent..it could use a bit more body and length but it did the trick on the night. Nothing wrong with it really (except if you paid £9.99 for it).

FYI the winemaker seems to be Gabriel Meffre in Gigondas.

Terres de Galets

Cotes du Rhone 2009

Cotes du Rhone AOC, France

Sainsbury's

£4.99 (£9.99)

3/5

Espiago Alonso 2009

This is a Grenache based red from the Calatayud DO in Zaragoza, Spain. It's not an overly complex wine. It's soft and fruity, with decent if not light underlying tannins. It has more depth than the average Grenache glugger, but I'm getting the impression it's a bit one-dimensional.

It would make a fine glugger, one that I would gladly serve, but at the same time a bit pricey for that purpose.

Espiago Alonso

Espiago 2009

Calatayud DO, Zaragoza, Spain

Virgin Wines

£10.99

3/5

Brewery Hill Reserve Shiraz 2008

I had a late night tonight with my brother-in-law, drinking wine and eating chicken wings (hey, I'm Canadian so they're an obsession) in my kitchen. I probably should have saved a nice bottle like this for a quieter occasion, but Kieron was nice enough to babysit for us last night so I wasn't about to get stingy with the wine.

This is a noticeable upgrade from the Brewery Hill entry-level bottling I had earlier in the week. It has a more complex nose, denser fruit on the palate and a concentrated, gravelly, long finish. I probably could have put it under the microscope a bit more but from the first whiff I could tell it was quality.

An interesting tidbit from the Naked Wines website: the winemaker of Brewery Hill, Jock Harvey, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Winemaker of the Year. I have no idea who awards this prize, or when the winner is announced, but he says if he wins, he will use the prize money to produce a Shiraz/Sangiovese blend just for Naked Wines. Now that would be interesting to try.

Brewery Hill

Reserve Shiraz 2008

South Australia

Naked Wines

£11.99

3.5/5

Arabella 'In Unison' Reserve 2007

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and possibly Merlot and Viognier. I say possibly because on the Arabella website it declares all these grapes may be involved, and then below that it says 'Blend Information: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Shiraz'. Either way it doesn't really matter to me, because the wine is fantastic.

I like blended reds because sometimes individual varietal characteristics can be overwhelming, like green-pepper in Cabernet or black pepper spiciness in Shiraz, especially in New World wines. I enjoy blends much more, as you end up with a more interesting, complex wine, like this one. It also lacks the rubber character you sometimes get in South African reds, and is as good as any Australian blend I've had.

I'd say it's decent value at £11.99, but if you're a Naked Wines 'Angel' you'll get £4 of that back, and you won't do much better than this for £8.

Arabella

'In Unison' Reserve 2007

Robertson Valley, Western Cape, South Africa

Naked Wines

£11.99

4/5

Du Clos Gavin Crisfield Coteaux du Languedoc 2007

Another good wine from Virgin tonight. This is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan from the Languedoc.

Intense fruit on the nose with detectable depth and trademark spiciness of this type of blend. Tastes more expensive that it is and is drinking well now. It's apparently an 'old-vines' version of the cheaper 'Les Salces' bottling also available from Virgin.

The label on my bottle is different than the one in the image, but no matter. I'm increasingly looking toward the Languedoc-Roussillon for good value French reds - I'm thinking about buying my Christmas reds from this region. They can be 'big', but they are great for winter. They offer ripe fruit but also lots of character and you can get some really enjoyable wines for under £10.

Du Clos

'Gavin Crisfield' 2007

Coteaux du Languedoc AOC, France

Virgin Wines

£9.99

3/5

Pra Morandina Valpolicella Superiore 2006

Another wine from my Virgin Wines sampler case.

This is a class above what I usually drink on a Monday night. It's rich and almost sweet, with notes of cherries, smoke and liquorice, with some herby and gravelly notes on the finish.

I almost thought it was a Ripasso because of the apparent sweetness and richness, but nothing I could find about the wine indicated so. There is a lack of information about the wine on the Virgin Wines website, and some superficial Googling didn't turn up much.

Good stuff, and should be at this price.

Pra Morandina

Valpolicella Superiore 2006

Veneto, Italy

Virgin Wines

£23.99

4/5

Brewery Hill Shiraz 2008

This is the third bottle from my Naked Wines taster pack.

I don't mean to be flippant, but it basically does what it says on the tin. It's Aussie Shiraz. It's quite full-on too - really rich fruit, high in alcohol but not ridiculous at 14% - despite what the image says - my bottle says 14%, not that I really mind anyway.

Apparently 90% of Naked Wine's sales are to its 'Angels' - basically members who pay into their account and can use the money to purchase wines. When they make a purchase they get 33% cash back, so if you're an Angel this wine only costs you £5.27 instead of the list price of £7.99. Not bad value - I was wondering where the 'preferential rates' they advertise were. Now we know, and I would much rather give my money to a small, independent winemaker than a huge drinks conglomerate.

Brewery Hill

Shiraz 2008

South Eastern Australia

Naked Wines

£7.99

3/5

Naked Wines Domaine Cristia Grenache Syrah 2009

Surely you've heard of Naked Wines? You know the company set up by ex-Virgin Wines employees whose marketing vouchers fall out of everything you buy?

The idea behind the company is simple - they invest in new winemakers in return for preferential prices, and pass the savings on to the customer. If you become a 'Naked Angel', you can pay a chosen amount into your Naked Wines account on a monthly basis, and then redeem it anytime you wish (or take it out). When you do make a purchase, you get 33% cash back.

Several months ago I received one of their vouchers (something like £40 off), and decided to have a look - they were new and their concept sounded interesting. I created an account, but after looking at their website and checking out the wines and the prices, I was unconvinced. There were several mistakes in the website (i.e. Argentine wines showing up in the Australia section) and the general lack of information about the wines an winemakers put me off. This gives the impression that this whole business is a family-like affair, where the customer, winemaker and the business are this one big close-knit group. If that were the case, surely this information would be readily available?

Either way, I left it alone for awhile until yesterday when I received an email with an offer to buy a taster pack of six wines and only paying for the tax and the delivery. It amounted to about £18, at which price I don't really care if the wines are any good. Also, it gives me a chance to try them out and see what this place is all about.

The first wine I tried is this Grenache/Syrah blend from what is I think the Southern Rhone. First of all, it tastes like it, and after some digging on the Naked Wines website it turns out that the same winemaker also makes Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Why is this information not there with the wine? Here is what appears when you click the wine, and then the link labelled 'The Facts':

Style: Easy drinking reds
Grape: Shiraz, Grenache & Other Spicy Reds
Country: France
Alcohol: 13.00%
Vintage: 2009
Size: 75cl

You only find out where the winemaker is from when you click the 'Meet the Winemaker' link. Of course, this wine still could be from anywhere according to the label on the bottle, which just says 'Vin de France'. No appellation, nothing. One can only assume it's a Vin de Pays, which is fine but why not tell us the region and classification?

So how is the wine? It tastes like an entry-level Cotes du Rhone. It's not too bad - it has quite good fruit but it also has some roughness to it. Better with food. Someone left a comment on the Naked Wines website saying it needed to breathe for an hour, and I'd say there were right - it takes the edge off this young wine, and opens up the fruit.

I'd say the price is too expensive as well. It goes for £7.99. I'm not saying it's overpriced for a VdP, after all it could just be a VdP because they used too much of some grape variety, or the vines aren't in the right location for an AOC wine. I'm saying it's too much for what the wine is. Considering you could get a Guigal CdR for £6 on offer in Waitrose, why would you buy this for £8, and pay delivery on top?

I have 5 more bottles to try - hopefully I get the time to blog them all. To be honest they all look like potential plonk - an Aussie Shiraz (from the ubiquitous South Eastern Australia region), a Chilean Merlot, an Argentine Sauvignon Blanc, a South African Chenin Blanc, and a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc. However I'll try to be objective with all of them. After all, I think the only thing wrong with the Domaine Cristia is the price.

Naked Wines
Domaine Cristia
Grenache Syrah 2009
VdP Rhone (I think), France
2.5/5

Grande Reserve Bergerac Cabernet Merlot 2009

This can probably be thrown on to the 'it's only worth it's offer price' heap. I thought it was worth a try because of Bergerac's proximity to Bordeaux and the 2009 vintage being an excellent one.

I didn't like it so much though - forgive the lack of technical terms here, but I just didn't like the taste.

When I think about it, there aren't too many cheap French reds that I like, except the odd one from Southern Rhone or the Languedoc, if it's on offer. They seem to lack the bright fruit flavours that cheaper New World wines have that make them so gluggable. That's just my opinion and taste however.

Grandissime

Grande Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot 2009

Bergerac AOC, France

Sainsbury's

£4.99 (£9.99)

2/5

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Primitivo del Salento

This is one of the wines on available with Sainsbury's '2 can dine for £10' offer, the others being white and rosé Pinot Grigio. Primitivo is the Italian name for Zinfandel.

It's very much a warm-weather red. It's produced in Puglia in south east Italy, which is the 'heel' in the boot.

What I meant by a warm-weather red is that it has a lot of grapey, raisiny flavours. Certainly gluggable, but not my cup of tea.

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Primivito del Salento

Puglia, Italy

Sainsbury's

2.5/5

LIDL Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2008

Friends of ours brought this wine over last weekend for our Hallowe'en party.

Yesterday was one of our wine club evenings, and the theme was Riesling (blog post coming soon), so I was avoiding red wine. Miriam opened this wine for dinner, and I helped her finish it after the tasting.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It seemed really fresh and lively, with a good streak of acidity throughout it and really drinkable. Perhaps my mouth was a bit sensitive to acid after tasting 6 classy but young and acidic Rieslings, but this went down really well. I really should taste it again before rating it, but first impressions do count for a lot.

I'm not sure what the price is, but most likely under £5.

LIDL

Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

Abruzzo, Italy

3/5

Sainsbury's House Côtes Du Rhône

Here's another wine from Sainsbury's house range. I actually bought the boxed version of this to make mulled wine with for our Hallowe'en party, with an intent to evaluate it on its merits as a table wine. Again, this seems to be a non-vintage wine.

Well, it tastes like a Côtes Du Rhône at least, with typical spiciness and Ribena-ish flavours. It has some earthiness but is still light, not too bad really. If you're partial to this region this might be a winner.

Sainsbury's

House Côtes Du Rhône

Rhone Valley, France

£14.49 (3L box)

2.5/5