Aldi Wines go Online

This week Aldi have launched an ecommerce facility but – MidWeekers will be pleased to see – at the moment focussed on wine.

Prices roughly replicate those in the store but this online service does require you to buy in sixes– although it includes a range of mixed half dozens, priced between £24 and £60.

The website selection includes plenty of good wine – even if vintages can be hard to tie down. I have selected four to tell you about but could easily have doubled that figure.

Since pictures appear on the site itself, the usual images of the selected wines have been omitted from my post this time.

Freshness and texture in equal measures

Italy’s Piedmont – especially around Gavi – handles the cortese grape well, adroitly controlling yields to ensure there is sufficient texture to stop the wine becoming excessively austere or overpoweringly – and one dimensionally – acidic.

Here, the nicely balanced and pleasantly fruity Exquisite Gavi (£5.49) achieves that goal but also contains suggestions of minerality that give depth to its measured grapefruit centred acidity.

Ascending the sauvignon quality ladder

Yes you can get cheaper sauvignon than this but the trick these days is to develop enticing tropical fruit substance to supplement Marlborough’s signature tanginess.

Exquisite Marlborough Sauvignon (£7.99) does this brilliantly with a gloriously fresh mouth-feel yet textured orange fruit to add complexity to its classic gooseberry based backbone.

Malbec at its soft and structured best

Moving on to reds, few grape varieties have seen sharper rises in popularity than malbec, and versions (like this one) from Argentina’s elevated Uco Valley – south of Mendoza city – are rapidly gaining reputations for smoothness and richness.

Soft and floral, 2014 Exquisite Argentinian Malbec (£5.99) has excellent acidity that neatly offsets the wine’s warm cherry, raspberry and red plum fruit and the gentle stabilising tannins that give it all structure.

A great blend from an unexpected part of France

Finally to France, which is well represented in the list, and to an unusual (for Languedoc) blend of cabernet sauvignon with its smooth and aromatic dad – cabernet franc.

The resulting soft and supple Exquisite Cabernet de Cabernet (£5.99), provides vanilla influenced red wine with plum and cherry fruit – all enlivened by an appealing minty acidity.