...And to drink?
My friends are nervous about bringing wine to ours because they think that as a wine writer, I’ll be sniffy about it. I tell them to buy a £10 bottle from a decent wine shop, recommended by the merchant. Without fail, they ignore my advice and turn up with a half-price bottle of supermarket wine. These half-price deals really are pernicious: the supermarket sells a certain wine at an inflated price for a few weeks and then drops the price so it looks like a bargain. It is not. Discounting usually means an inflated price to begin with.
Happily there’s still a place for real bargains: Aldi. They don’t have special offers or discounts, just huge buying power so that they can offer decent wines at knock-down prices. There’s some surprisingly good stuff , especially in the £5 to £6 bracket. In my notes for all of those below, I wrote the word ‘proper’ because this is how they taste: not fancy, not confected, just good honest wine.
Venturer Old Vines Garnacha 2013, £4.99
Look at that price! It’s like 2007 all over again. This is nice, spicy, dry, simple stuff with enough grip to make it interesting.
The Exquisite Collection Malbec 2013, £5.99
This is how I like my cheap Malbec – floral and light rather than dark and jammy.
The Exquisite Collection Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie 2013, £5.99
More tanginess here, with a hint of vanilla on the nose and lovely ripe, lemony fruit. It’s crying out for a nice piece of fish.
The Exquisite Collection Gavi 2013, £5.29
Smells of pears and nuts and then sharp, refreshing – proper Gavi!
All of the above wines are available from Aldi: www.aldi.co.uk
Happily there’s still a place for real bargains: Aldi. They don’t have special offers or discounts, just huge buying power so that they can offer decent wines at knock-down prices. There’s some surprisingly good stuff , especially in the £5 to £6 bracket. In my notes for all of those below, I wrote the word ‘proper’ because this is how they taste: not fancy, not confected, just good honest wine.
Venturer Old Vines Garnacha 2013, £4.99
Look at that price! It’s like 2007 all over again. This is nice, spicy, dry, simple stuff with enough grip to make it interesting.
The Exquisite Collection Malbec 2013, £5.99
This is how I like my cheap Malbec – floral and light rather than dark and jammy.
The Exquisite Collection Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie 2013, £5.99
More tanginess here, with a hint of vanilla on the nose and lovely ripe, lemony fruit. It’s crying out for a nice piece of fish.
The Exquisite Collection Gavi 2013, £5.29
Smells of pears and nuts and then sharp, refreshing – proper Gavi!
All of the above wines are available from Aldi: www.aldi.co.uk