An Eastern European merlot is this week’s High Street hero while a charming Australian chardonnay from Majestic completes the line-up of Top Tips. New promotions have also kicked off at Morrisons and Waitrose, so scroll down for my highlights and for the end dates.
2020 Smith & Wright Chardonnay (from £5.99 at Majestic)
This invitingly sound, modern Australian chardonnay exhibits soft peach and pineapple flavours embellished with touches of baked apple, lively acidity and lemon pith.
Those elements all skilfully integrate into the wine’s buttery, creamy, vanilla foundation which, nevertheless, still provides attractive hints of sweetness.
2020 Thracian Lowlands Merlot (£4.50 Tesco):
Underlining the increasing attractiveness of Eastern European wines, here is a bargain priced merlot from Bulgaria.
Soft and straightforward, it is centred around appealing plum, cherry and bramble flavours.
That no frills fruitiness combines well with the wine’s muted tannins and welcome freshness, to provide ideal informal barbecue drinking.
This week’s offers and promotions
At M&S
Today is the final day of the M&S Summer Drinks Festival. Pop along to your local store for discounts on a range of wine, beer and spirits, including this fruity red:
- Lock Keeper’s Reserve Shiraz (Drops from £9 to £6 until 30 August)
At Sainsbury’s
The current promotion at Sainsbury’s ends tomorrow. This good value fizz (which I recommended back in March) is worth adding to your trolley if you get the chance:
- Taste the Difference Conegliano Prosecco (Down to £7.50 until 31 August)
At Morrisons
A fresh promotion is under way at Morrisons and runs through until 21 September and here is a lovely riesling (off-dry but delightfully tangy) that it contains:
The Best Riesling (Reduced from £8.25 to £6.50)
At Waitrose
Also in operation until 21 September, are the latest deals at Waitrose and reductions there include this Spanish red I commended a few weeks back:
- Pacheco Organic Monastrell (Down £1 to £6.99)
At the Co-op
The current promotion at the Co-op continues this week with offers including on this fresh and tasty white:
- Co-op Fairtrade Irresistible Sauvignon Blanc (Down £1 to £5 until 7 September in participating stores)
Join us again on Thursday when we compare the four levels used in the classification hierarchy for Rhone reds .
