As prices for wines from established areas continue to rise, supermarket buyers cast their nets wider.
Some excellent wines are surfacing from those broadened searches.
But who knows which the good ones are?
Well, frequently, MidWeek Wines does – offering a navigator and guide through the emerging and the little known.
It provides an alternative to the understandable “I know what I like and like what I know” response to today’s vast, diverse and confusing wine aisles.
Often, its recommendations lead into the realms of innovation in one form or another.
Today, sees two such forms – the first with an innovator on sustainability.
The second involves experimentation with a different grape variety in a slightly surprising place.
Better still, both provide a tasty glassful.
In the usual way, hyperlinks and pictures are used where possible to help you locate the bottle in question.
First, the Eco-Champion
2023 Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc (£7.50 – instead of £10.50 until 10 December – at the Co-op and 12.5% abv):
New Zealand sauvignon normally holds its price well, so this 25%+ discount is well worth seeking out.
Grove Mill is noted for its innovative water recycling, habitat restoration and other sustainability projects and was actually the world’s first carbon-neutral winery.
This result of their labours opens with minty aromas and goes on to provide lingering and mellow apple, white peach and nettle flavours.
It embodies all the customary flamboyance we associate with Marlborough yet also contains a lively prickle of grapefruit acidity.
Then the upwardly mobile grape
2023 Taste the Difference Gamay Comté Tolosan (£7.50 – instead of £9.50 until 10 December – with a Nectar card at Sainsbury’s and 12.5% abv):
As MidWeekers well know, the Southwest France wine region is a rising star and here they experiment with the Beaujolais grape – perhaps anticipating climate change.
Whatever the reasoning, the result (from an area headed by Toulouse) is exquisite, meriting enthusiastic applause for the Sainsbury’s team that discovered it.
With freshness and a purple youthful colour, but little tannin, this delivers juicy loganberry, black cherry and pomegranate flavours
That backbone is boosted by orange infused acidity and hints of allspice and violets.
See you again on Thursday when my review of Christmas wines continues – with a close look at options from the world of white wine.
9 responses
Morning Brian …
A case of one thing might lead to another!
Should we be in Sainsbury’s availing ourselves of the interesting Gamay Comté Tolosan, a potentially worthy bottle of fruity-low-tannins to have and to share with others who might appreciate the lesser intensities compared to some other south west French reds, (Madiran/Tannat!), we can collect a bottle of the TTD Müller Thurgau you flagged up recently. The latter I have had on the go this last week, kept cold in the fridge it just kept on giving even after several days of being open. I really appreciated its so many positive qualities.
Then I note you were flagging-up the Co-op Irresistible Pais in your weekly Daily Record column on Saturday so again when collecting today’s NZ-SB from that shop a bottle of this Chilean red that has its fans here too makes that shopping trip doubly profitable.
I hit Asda last week. Although I enjoyed both the new Wine Atlas reds, Bonarda and Roussillon Villages, and especially so on a 25% reduction buy 6 deal, (plus some cash off the transaction as well, using my Asda Rewards app), I collected one each of the whites, Sicilian Carricante, Greek Roditis-SB and Romanian Feteasca Regala for the wine rack. There was a rosé Prosecco too and the 6 bottles came in for me at less than £25!!
Off to Morrisons today. The £10 card they gave me is burning a hole in my pocket and they too have 25% off buy 6 although their ‘rules’ on this deal are somewhat specific and we need to take care of the terms, conditions and small print. Their new Chinon is what I want and any remainders that might be hanging back on the seemingly, now departed, Cité de Carcassonne rouge.
23 days and counting….
With regard to today’s Taste the Difference Gamay a bit of sleuthing on the reference to winemaker Jean-Noël Barrau in Sainsbury’s description pins it down to the Vinovalie cooperative where Monsieur Barrau is the cellar master at the Rabastens winery. Like Plaimont, Vinovalie is another major cooperative player in SW France but specialising in the wines of Gaiilac, Fronton and Cahors. In addition to this TtD Gamay the Sainsbury’s TtD Gaillac Loin De L’Oeil in the Discovery Collection series comes from there, as does (did?) the Sainsbury’s TtD Discovery Collection Fronton.
If you’re a fan of Fronton wines made from the local négrette grape ‘Les Petits Cailloux Domaine Le Roc’ and ‘Le Chant du Côt à la Négrette’ are two red wines also produced by Vinovalie I’ve enjoyed. The first is from TWS and the second (for lucky northerners with a Booths nearby) was featured by David Williams in the Observer back in September
Aldi alert! Didn’t see it advertised over the weekend but Aldi are selling their Cairanne 2022 for the ridiculous price of £3.49. Won’t last long. Last year’s 2019 was a winner and vintage reports suggest 2022 will be as good if not better.
Last year it was limited to 2 per customer, this year it is maximum 12 per customer. It won’t last long!
Sainsbury’s do seem to excel in wines from SW France. As well as those mentioned by Keith above I’m thinking of the delicious Jurançon Sec too which I learned about from your recommendations.
Well dear reader, you know that I am not one to sing my own praises, but when the accolades keep coming in…..
I was invited to join the Wine Society’s Community Forum.
It was worthy, but a bit staid.
So I decided to rev things up a bit.
I won “ User of the month” (?!!?) and earned a permanent digital badge.
Just sayin’.
I bet that Richard has got a cabinet full of them.
Now to sing the deserved praises of Wrexham, which is more than a successful football club, backed by two Hollywood A listers.
I have no hesitation in recommending two abv 20% Beech Avenue Drinks Co. liqueurs.Website http://www.beechavenuedrinks.co.uk
The Calon*coffee is a small batch, handcrafted liqueur, which uses roasted Wrexham Bean Co. Brazilian and Burundi beans, doused in neutral spirit and demerara sugar.
Then Mafon **,Raspberry Liqueur.Awarded Great Taste 2024. Made with ripe juicy Herefordshire raspberries.”Here comes the Summer”.1979.Name the group?
Alticcio* **Wine Shop in Wrexham stocks them and I recommend it as an independent retailer of high quality wines, run by two delightful Polish ladies- Beata and Renata.Pop in, browse and perhaps enjoy a large glass of “pot luck” wine for £5.50.
It is also worth looking up Jay Rayner’s of the Observer review of Lisbon tapas restaurant, in which he celebrated good vinho de Casa that comes in carafes at reasonable prices.
*Calon is Welsh for Heart or Spirit
* *Mafon is Welsh for raspberry
** * Alticcio is Italian for tipsy.
Hi Brian,
Popped into Lidl this morning and noticed that, from this Thursday, there is a 30% off offer if you buy 3 or more bottles from their Deluxe range. You have recommended their NZ Sauv Blanc recently, and I have read favourable reports of the Aussie Shiraz.
Incidentally I opened their 2022 Collin-Bouisset Morgan over the weekend, which I bought on offer at £8.99. This had received good reports from 2 reviewers, whom I much respect. But, sadly, my bottle was disappointing, tasting flat and oxidised – so some bottle variation here. If anyone has a bottle, worth trying it sooner rather than later. I did get a bottle replaced a little while ago. Just took the bottle to the till, alongside a replacement (the same, in that case – or choose something different) and they replaced it with a smile, and no absolutely no hassle. I did have the receipt – and of course all your receipts are stored on their app. Well done Lidl!
I popped into my newly refurbished Co-op with a £5 off a £20 spend. I bagged three bottles of the Grove Mill SB. The Co-op have a £5 off any three bottles costing £7 or more. So a reduction of £3 that you highlighted, £5 off buy three and a bonus coupon it worked out at £4.18!a bottle. Triple dipping, I just had to do it!
“Here comes the summer” 1979.The group was the Undertones
I always go for a Beaujolais for Boxing Day-something a bit lighter.
That Gamay above looks like an ideal choice.