Lidl’s New Promotion goes Mediterranean

Lidl’s latest “while stocks last” promotion begins today with 30+ different wines; they start from £4.99 and all have a clear Mediterranean flavour.

Once again the promotion contains great value wines and is led this time by four or five from Spain around, or under, a fiver – perfect for summer drinking.

As before, there are also a couple of good value wines from other retailers.

Click on any of the bottles shown for an enlarged image to help you pinpoint the wine on a crowded display.

Tasty white from a red wine region

Although we usually think of reds in connection with the massive Castilla–La-Mancha region, here is a well made (and brilliantly priced) white from the seriously underestimated verdejo grape.

Enjoy then the orange based depth of 2016 Finca Los Trenzones Verdjo (£4.99 and 12.5% abv) and the fresh prickle of lime centred acidity that complements it.

A Rhone white heads south

While marsanne and the Rhone valley are indisputably partners for life, this version from Languedoc adds a little extra ripeness without compromising the variety’s trademark twist of minerality.

Mellow, textured yet fresh too, 2015 Val de Salis Marsanne (£6.99 and 13%) combines greengage and apple fruit with citrus acidity that is neatly counterbalanced by flinty savoury edges.

…and a rosé from thereabouts

Sticking with Languedoc but switching to rosé, how welcome it is to find an inexpensive dry rosé from grenache and friends that avoids any trace of the bitterness that mars so many similar versions.

I enjoyed the soft, floral and graceful nature of 2016 Rosé Candide (£5.99 and 13%) that skilfully combines subtly textured crab apple fruit with lemon centred acidity.

Wow! Just look at the price of this!

Next we head back over the border to Spain for an impressive cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo blend made in the (still) slightly unfashionable Carinena region; it’s hard to believe this wine gives you change from a fiver!

Along with bright cherry and blackcurrant fruit, 2010 Monte Plogar Carinena Gran Reserva (£4.99 and 13.5%) also brings you amazingly sharp acidity for its age but deepens the overall effect with suggestions of cinnamon and menthol made the more effective by the softness of the wine’s tannin.

An especially impressive Rhone village

Many regard Cairanne – north east of Chateauneuf du Pape – as one of the most interesting parts of the Southern Rhone despite only having its own appellation for less than ten years.

In classic GSM style (grenache, syrah and mourvedre), 2015 Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne (£6.49 and 14%) majors on cherry and plum fruit but adds attractive acidity and vanilla to the mix and embellishes everything with an appealing but subtle sweet edge.

Never guess where this fizz is from

Portugal is not the obvious place for sparkling wines but winemakers there are amazingly inventive and here have crafted a well priced version from the Dao region using the acidity charged arinto grape and more aromatic bical.

Soft and zingingly clean Ribeiro Santo (£8.99 and 12%) combines fresh apple fruit with biscuit based depth and attractive touches of cream soda.

Best of the Rest

Pinot grigio to confound its critics

Amid all the complaints about the paucity of acidity and depth in so much entry point pinot grigio (yes, I know, my voice is among them), it is good to encounter this South African version that fails neither test.

While 2016 Secret Cellar Pinot Grigio (£4.99 – instead of £7.79 until 6 June – at Waitrose and 12%) retains all the trademark floral and soft peach touches it also delivers fresh pink grapefruit acidity and ripe mango centred texture with a hint of mace.

 … and for a red from those parts

Stay with South Africa but switch to red and to a retailer that has had considerable success with inexpensive wines from that country – winning awards for pinotage a year or so back.

Meaty mulberry and bramble fruit abounds in 2016 The Best South African Shiraz (£6 at Morrisons and 14%) and this is neatly combined with gentle tannin – but firmer acidity – and suggestions of herbs and milk chocolate.

Feature Picture

In case you are wondering about the feature picture, no it’s not me but my son (complete with glass of course) included because, today, he celebrates a significant birthday! – and thanks to Alec Turton for the picture.